Perception
by Katsuun97
Summary: It's all about how you view it. It's all about perception. Two games are left, and there are many moves left to play... Rated T for language, blood, and gore. Major Epiosde 6 Spoilers. OC's.
1. Prolouge : Black, Grey, and White

**Another idea that popped into my head. This won't be a one-shot; at least hopefully it won't be because I'll be able to maintain my interest long enough to publish something coherent. **

**MAJOR Episode 6 Spoilers; and some OOCs. Crossover with Higurashi, though more in passing plus usage of a character. Hint hint.**

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**Perspective:**

**Pre-Game**

The Senate congregated in a court that existed outside of time and space; in ones and twos they traversed the abyss that permeated the multiverse of kakera from their various realms into this court. The gathering of the Senate was an immensely rare event; most preferred laziness and decadence to actual work. Only in times of extreme duress would they bother to call a full council; most other times they handled issues such as they advancement of magicians into Witches through intermediaries. Most were Voyagers who had won the position through power and experience. A select few were promising Witches, or in rare cases magicians. Together, they formed the corrupt bureaucratic council that oversaw all magical beings; the Witches Senate.

Phasing while immaterial through the walls of the court, the assorted Witches and Sorcerers materialized onto thrones that lay in concentric circles around a raised platform. The thrones were beautifully ornate; one here was decorated with beautiful engravings of cherubs in mahogany wood, another there had a ludicrously tall chair back that rose nearly twice as high as the surrounding chairs and had actual plant vines draped delicately around it. A rather unnecessary display given that their powers could easily shift the appearance of the chairs at will, but human vanity still weighed heavily on even the strongest of magical beings. Within minutes, the seating was full and the witches babbling incessantly among themselves; the din echoing throughout the court as if it were a cave.

_"Silence, I will have silence in this assembly!" _The loudest voice to echo immediately hushed all the others; the speaker stood upright above her chair, incensed. A blond Voyager, eyes dark with age stood. Her garb was simple, her chair was n undecorated wooden piece. And she was held in common contemporary to be the strongest witch currently alive within the Senate; Iotazeta, Witch of Relativity. She could force any situation to have infinitely multiple results, trapping even the strongest of Witches in a hell of irresolvable outcomes, each to be resolved until the Witch ultimately went insane. Few could stand against her, only the wayward Featherine had ever openly defeated her; in a duel that would be the stuff of legends for centuries following. She lived simply in comparison to her extravagant peers; the brunt of her power was devoted to maintaining order within the magical community. And her efforts so far had all been successful.

_"Right." _Her voice was thin, almost frail with the centuries gone by; she seemed to have difficulty speaking and paused often to heavily breathe and gather her thoughts. _"I have called the Senate to... for as you know, there is an... issue worthy of our immediate... concern." _She hacked and coughed; her more lively and youthful apprentice, a male magician by the name of Broglie stood to ease back the sickly witch and address the congregation himself:

_"I apologize on behalf of my master; Witch of Relativity," _the apprentice began. His voice was smooth, his articulation impressive; and he caught the attention of the various magical beings assembled with ease. _"She is not feeling well; recent events have worn heavily on her health." _Iotazeta collapsed into her chair; she made impotent clutches at a porcelain cup laid on an adjacent table. A plump witch next to her kindly brought the platter into Iotazeta's hands; she drank deeply. Broglie glanced once at her, unsure; than continued to speak. _"Reports from our furniture indicate that there has been a seismic shift in the balance of power." _The room was silent, Iotazeta had stopped drinking and collapsed her head onto the desk; her neighbor had placed a kindly hand onto her shoulder. _"The title of Golden Witch has been passed on. Without consent of the council."_

An uproar broke out. Witches and Sorcerers alike discussed the revelation nervously; such an event had never happed in the long era that the Witches Senate had reigned. Several of Iotazeta's neighbors; including the big-boned one began to discuss eagerly among themselves. Iotazeta continued to lie still; her hair draped unceremoniously around her head. Broglie suddenly glanced around the court, nervous; he was unsure on how to proceed. He coughed; tried to call the court to attention. No one played any heed to him.

_"Erm... attention! Please, I- or should I say my master...?" _His command died in his throat; nobody payed attention regardless. The noise in the court was deafening; echoes bounced from the walls and rafters. _"Hey! Will you all just be quiet-" _No response from the crowd, if anything they seemed to get louder. Broglie made a useless gesture, he tried again. _"Silence! I- I will have silence!" _No use. Broglie could hardly hear himself in the rabble, he bit his lip nervously. Behind him, under the massive shadow cast by the fat witch; Iotazeta was stirred by the increasingly louder noise. She looked upon her apprentice, frowned vaguely; a word lost in the chaos of the room was uttered from her dry lips.

An explosion of power from the platform around which the conclave was built; blinding light and heat caused the nearest of Witches to recoil in fright and pain. Everyone was silenced at once, shock and surprise radiated from the still crowd. Broglie held his ground; he squinted his eyes against the radiance and could made out a vaguely humanoid shadow in it's heart. Iotazeta wriggled uselessly; the fat witch in her surprise had jumped and landed right on her superior, trapping her beneath her mass. All was quiet again; save Iotazeta's futile struggling.

_"Who... who are you? And how have you come to the court of the Witches Senate?" _This particular pocket of space was sealed off by the combined power of the full, two hundred body council; only with express permission from a member could one hope to enter the virtual fortress of magic. Broglie doubted that this could be a Witches furniture, the level of power radiated by his or her arrival alone was stronger than what all but the highest level furniture could muster up. His assumption was a Voyager; only slightly below Iotazeta's level, at least during her prime. He braced himself for combat; his muscles tightened, his teeth clenched. Around him, the assembled council watched uneasily. Time passed, the figure remained motionless; still obscured by a strong aura of light.

_"I am here because your master over there called me. Obviously." _The voice was masculine; impudent and cheery like that of a cocky child's. Broglie suddenly remembered Iotazeta; turning, he saw her writhing beneath the half fainted witch. He gave a sudden start as he realized his masters plight; he immediately rushed over to free her, along with several of her more proactive peers. Soon she was freed; Iotazeta took the time to calmly smooth her hair and dress while berating her confused apprentice. _"Iotazeta. I'm surprised that you of all people would bring me back into the Senate."_

_ "Yes, well..." _Iotazeta approached the dais, many sets of weary eyes followed her. _"You are hardly the person I would have chosen for this task. But then, nobody in particular meets the description, so you are the closest thing I can get." _She shook her head; sighed. _"There are others more competent than you at least. And far less troublesome as well. But in this case, they are the direct __root of our issue to begin with; so calling upon them would obviously be less than appropriate." _

The figure silhouetted against the shadow chuckled heartily. _"Always a cold bitch right to the end." _Several of the gathered Witches gasped, Iotazeta showed no signs of outrage. The figure laughed again. _"Stoic as well. I see nothing has changed since I retired from the council and passed on the headship to you; right 'Iota-chan'? _He put undue emphasis on his last word, Iotazeta grimaced. _"If my assumptions are correct, your wonderful opinion of me aside; I would say that the problem here lies with my dear old friends correct? Lambda-chan and Featherine if you didn't know." _Iotazeta faintly nodded; her counterpart shook his head. _"I was afraid of such. Pleasant characters those two; and I say that with all of the sincerity of a child who has stolen from the cookie jar confronted by his parents-..."_

_ "I would like to remind you of whom you are addressing," _Broglie interjected, his features stony as he called out the unknown interloper. _"This is the great Witch Iotazeta, master of the Witches Senate for two millennium; and this is that very Senate that you have trespassed into." _Several of the bolder Witches gave cries of approval; most remained cautious and silent. _"I am sure that between your rude mannerisms and outrageous lies, my master would have no intention of allowing you..." _He froze at the look on his masters face; a cold glare killed whatever else he had intended to say. Humiliated, he sunk into the nearest chair and did his best to appear scarce.

_"Your apprentice Iota-chan?" _The figure nodded approvingly. _"He has guts; I will give him that. Openly defending his master in the face of an unknown and potentially dangerous figure. Reminds me of myself; back when I was young and naïve." _He scratched at his shadowy chin thoughtfully. _"Come to think of it, I may have been an even bigger idiot back then than he was," _he said contemplatively as he identified the brooding Broglie. He remained still in thought, then gave a start._"Ah, but where are my manners? I must apologize for that less than savory introduction Iota-chan; old habits die hard after all. But you are among company, so I must watch my behavior!" _The figure concluded cheerfully; it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

Iotazeta coughed, cleared her throat. The assembly relaxed; Iotazeta seemed to be handling the situation well enough, and they proceeded to return to idly bantering among themselves. At least they had the decency to talk in hushed tones. Iotazeta resisted the urge to roll her eyes or palm her forehead with difficulty; the ineptitude of her own organization exasperated her.

_"Right." _Iotazeta spoke directly to the arrival now, her voice dropped to a conversational volume. _"You'll need to know the full situation, of course." _Her counterpart nodded, the aura obscuring him began to fade, though his figure was still vague. _"It would be an indeterminate amount of months ago; roughly 1986 on the game board. A game was started on the island of Rokkenjima, seemingly innocent enough at first. The game existed between Lady Beatrice- the current one I mean, the apprentice of the Beatrice you knew- and a human subject named Battler Ushiromiya. Again, the event seems innocent enough at first; hardly worth investigation on our part, even when Lady Lambdadelta joined."_

_ "My agents were roused when the title of Beatrice was passed on in the third iteration of the game to another human subject; Eva Ushiromiya, now Eva-Beatrice, Witch of Anger. Lambdadelta herself approved of the advancement, suspicious in of itself, and the situation generally deteriorated from there. The title was passed on multiple times; it currently resides within a third human subject; Ange-Beatrice, Witch of Resurrection. But that is hardly the point."_

_ "Lambdadelta began performing increasingly outrageous insubordinations: among other things she allowed the Eiserne Jungfrau to join the game under the command of a certain Erika Furudo, and took command of the game herself during it's fifth iteration; assignment of furniture and direct interference into running games are not allowed without a majority vote by the Senate. We tried to summon her to court; she abdicated her seat a month ago. Immediately afterwards, she gave the full power of the then deceased Beato- Beatrice after seceding her title- and gave it to Battler himself."_

_ "I assume I do not need to tell you the implications of such?" _The figure shook his head heavily, he sat in thought. The title of a witch was largely insignificant, some could make do without designated names; but the power of a witch was a dangerous tool. This power was carefully guarded by the Senate; the power of a witch could make a single person a dangerous threat depending on the level of power they received. Furthermore, the power of a witch inseparably binded the recipient to the giver; horrendous things could be done with such a bond.

_"And what of Featherine? What has that one done to involve herself into this mess?" _The light receded further; his skin could be barely made out as fair, his face remained impossible to see.

_"She came to the game for a specific reason. This name will definitely interest you if nothing else; Featherine's former apprentice, Bernkastel." _She smiled darkly, the figure in the dwindling aura visibly flinched. _"Indeed. I suppose you need no elaboration, you know your own history well enough. Suffice it to say that Featherine has made this situation even more volatile; traitor as she is to the Senate, if she is willing to come into the open in blatant sight of us..." _She left the thought hanging, it was obvious enough to him. They remained silent for several seconds, the man took his time to respond.

_"Bernkastel..." _The voice was faded, almost wistful. _"You know what you are doing, bringing her up so nonchalantly knowing full well my... past." _He paused, audibly gulped; his voice was constricted, as if he was restraining some heavy emotion with difficulty. _"Well, suffice it so say on my side that you have my support. I will do as you request." _Iotazeta grinned wickedly at the man; he regarded her with a stony stare. The light was almost gone now, one could make out soft, brown eyes and the bridge of his nose. 

_ "Right. You are to join the game as a third party- possibly fourth given Featherine- and figure out what is going on beneath the surface. Someone has a motive for starting this game, and they plan something; that is for sure. Report your findings back to the court, and we can deal with the potential threat collectively." _Nodding slightly, the man asked:

_"Will I receive any aid? Furniture?" _His voice was a monotone, he seemed to have his mind elsewhere. The light pulled back even further; a hand loosely clasped around some metal object emerged from the golden bubble.

_"Yes. As I mentioned earlier, the Eiserne Jungfrau are being employed by one of the sides; so we are assigning the SSVD to you." _The SS Van Dine; enforcers of Dine's 20 Rules, were the stricter counterpart to the Eiserne Jungfrau; far more specialized but excelling at what they could do. They would match the Eiserne Jungfrau well, and their leader, Wizard-Hunting Wright; was considered an equal or even superior to Dlanor A. Knox. The figure nodded, dark brown bangs bounced with his head. The aura was gone, the figure revealed.

He was a young adult at best, perhaps 16 or 17 physically. His clothing was simple, a red leather breastplate overlaid a greenish long-sleeved robe that extended from his neckline to the floor. Clenched in a hand was an medium length aluminum bat; a human object taken from a previous game as a token of his victory. The bat gleaned in the dim lighting of the chamber; as did his eyes, slightly obscured by his sloppy hair. His pose was relaxed; one that spoke of both laziness and impressive confidence at once.

_"Maebara. Good to see you after so long." _Iotazeta stepped onto the dais and extended a hand, still distracted; Maebara failed to notice her gesture and simply stood there blankly. Sorcerer of Faith, Maebara was a Voyager who had been at the apex of his power during the heyday of Featherine; the two had a long standing rivalry. Maebara had changed following a game with the upstart apprentice Lambdadelta; he had surrendered his position as Strongest Sorcerer despite his triumph. He had some sort of relationship with Bernkastel; born directly of that game though the two would drift apart and Maebara would go on to live a secluded life, isolated from the multiverse in a lonely world where nothing happened.

_"Hm?" _Maebara shook his head, he finally noticed the proffered hand and belatedly took it. _"My apologies Iota-chan, I was distracted..." _He dropped her arm unceremoniously; as fast as he had arrived he was gone. It was hard to tell why he had left, Iotazeta mused on it. Had she driven him off by appealing to him in Bernkastel's name?

It was hard to tell. She supposed it depended on how one looked at it.

**Not my best. I really suck with stuff like exposition and description; I think it came out sloppy. Rest assured, future chapters should be better.**

**Thank you for reading so far.**


	2. EP7 : Top Board

**Notes on text, which will be used heavily in this story:**

-Underlined Text **is equivalent to Red Text**

**-Underlined and Bolded Text ****is equivalent to Blue Text**

_**-Underlined, Bolded, and Italicized Text **_**is equivalent to Golden Text**

**Yes I know it's a poor system, but what else can I do? Fanfiction won't allow color text. If anyone knows otherwise; please feel free to tell me.**

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**Episode 7 : Corruption of the Golden Witch**

**Move 1 : Top Board **

_"Please repeat that," _Battler growled at Bernkastel; who regarded him in turn with a bored expression. _"I may or may not be sure here; but it sounds like you just said that you were declared Game Master of the next game..." _He left the thought dangling, stared contemptuously at the Witch of Miracles.

_"If you require me to repeat it; yes I have been made Game Master."_ Bernkastel smiled slightly at this; a presuming, conceited smile that only further irritated Battler. _"If that is a concept that is difficult to get through your skull, by all means feel free to retire for some time and think the concept through." _Her childish grin widened; Battler fumed silently. _"Go on. We're all waiting here." _She gestured around the room; severals sets of eyes regarded her in turn: Lambdadelta and Bernkastel occupied one side of their game room; Battler, Beatrice, and Virgilia sat parallel to them.

_"This is outrageous isn't it?" _Battler nodded; Beatrice had every right to be upset. They had been in the winning position. The board had been cleared, the truth he already knew. So why then was Bernkastel taking his position as Game Master?

Battler regarded Beatrice, his incomplete shadow of the Beato lost in the fifth game. She seemed to be close to a break through; in her lay Battler's hopes for seeing the true Beatrice awakened again. She evoked many feeling in him at once; pity, sorrow... love. Battler hated to admit it, but he had fallen throughly for the Golden Witch: her feisty attitude, her golden blond hair, her brightening smile; Battler would give everything to bring Beatrice back. He would plow through a billion hells, face the devil himself to return the Beatrice he had known and loved. Battler knew that the key to Beatrice's resurrection was the game itself; if he could win, Beatrice's spirit could perhaps return... but first, he had a manipulative bitch of a witch to deal with.

_"On whose authority are you allowed to take this title?" _Battler inquired of Bernkastel. _"I assure you; I would not award the title of Game Master under any circumstances. I'm still alive; I still hold the position. So who gave you the right to usurp me?" _

_"That would be me." _Battler and Beatrice glanced about; found a newcomer occupying a chair between the two factions. Neither had seen her arrive; she had simply appeared in their midst with little warning. Her hair was a darkish purple, her dress a ludicrously overdecorated kimono complete with a medaled sash; what the medals meant, Battler couldn't guess at. A pair of silvery horns extended from the opposing sides of her head gleaning faintly in the brightness of the room; a smooth walking stick lay clasped loosely in a hand. She wore a grin; a coldly malicious grin that gave Battler an involuntary chill.

_"So... so it is under your authority that Bernkastel is declared Game Master?"_ Beatrice sounded timid and Battler supposed he would have as well. Bernkastel and Lambdadelta were each scary in their own way... but this guest had a thoroughly unpleasant feel about her; a dark, malignant aura that seemed to leech the life from the room.

_"Indeed." _The newcomer turned to face them; her eyes were practical slits of purple that unsettled the pair of them, Battler and Beatrice averted their gazes. _"I am Featherine Augustine Aurora; Witch of Theatrics and former mentor of that child over there." _With this she indicated Bernkastel; Bernkastel offered Featherine an unreadable look. _"Do not take it the wrong way; the game was adequate under your control. Bernkastel shall offer another viewpoint... a less biased one, anyways."_

At this, Battler turned to face Featherine; furious. _"And what presumptions of bias do you make?" _Battler coldly stared at the Witch of Theatrics; she met his glare with a wicked grin. _"If you are Bernkastel's former teacher, would you not be naturally favorable towards her? Have you not even seen what that bitch does? She's a monster!" _Battler settled down; he smoothed out a few creases in his suit with care and deliberately sat back in his throne.

_"You know what they say... all monsters are born of other monsters." _Featherine's grin widened further; a sickle like tooth gleaned sharply in the light. _"Entrails are delicious you know; especially if they are from recently living subjects. That aside, you are just as guilty of bias as I am_; _you put your trust in Beatrice after all. She is a witch; like all witches she has a goal, and a plan to achieve that goal. You only trust her because she treats you better than more honest witches like myself and Bernkastel; in a way, she is even crueler than us for deceiving you so."_

_"Thats a lie," _Battler interjected coldly. _"She does not 'treat' me better; she __**is **__better than the rest of you cruel, heartless monsters. I will see her revived; and I will see the rest of you brought down for taking advantage of her like such." _His eyes swept over the four opposing him; they returned his gaze evenly.

_"Suit yourself," _Featherine yawned as Battler's gaze passed over her. She rubbed at one of her horns, frowned. _"You are free to hold whatever viewpoint you please; that is the right of a Witch." _She glanced about the room, her frown growing in size.

_"Something wrong, Lady Featherine?" _Lambdadelta finally spoke; she spoke humbly, a bad sign given her normally impudent attitude towards anyone besides- occasionally including- Bernkastel. Featherine made a slight gesture, Lambdadelta turned to the others and shrugged. Virgilia and Beatrice shot glances at Battler; he shook his head. Featherine's behavior was as unreadable to him as it was to the other inhabitants of the room; save Featherine and perhaps Bernkastel.

Featherine suddenly stopped; her frown turned into a slight snarl. Righting herself onto her throne she said, _"We have another guest." _The rest of them looked about in a frenzy; Virgilia pointed to indicate a man sitting opposite Featherine in a chair that had been vacant only moments before.

This particular arrival was as ridiculously dressed as Featherine; if not more so. He wore a green robe; the upper portion of it obscured by some sort of brick red breastplate. He had a strong figure; a metal bat was grasped in one of his hands. He was a brunette; his facial features and figure hinted at a man in his late teens. His aura was decidedly different however; Battler sensed a sort of cocky wisdom in the mans fiery eyes and impudent face.

_"Of course. Maebara. How charming." _Featherine growled between clenched teeth; the two regarded each other with what could be described as respectful loathing. _"I had returned under the premise that you had left the magical community; a self imposed exile, I was told. Of course, not all can go according to ones wishes..." _Featherine slouched in her seat and silenced herself; occasionally shooting a dark glance at Maebara but otherwise remaining still.

_"Featherine. Simply delightful to see you of course," _Maebara said with a cheery tone that seemed to insinuate sarcasm. _"Lambdadelta as well; the Senate sends their regards." _Lambdadelta huffed, she turned her face pointedly from the brunette. _"Virgilia, is it? You finally passed on your title; though I wish that you had had the decency to invite me to her coronation ceremony." _

Virgilia smiled ruefully at the new arrival as he spoke to her: _"I wish I had; but it was impossible to reach you at the time. Anyone who tried came back in a less than enviable state." _Maebara chuckled at this; then proceeded to regard the rest of the room.

_"Beatrice. I have heard much about you and your game; though I must apologize for your death." _Beatrice shrugged; she didn't have any memories of this strange man. _"And Battler, not even a year and already a Sorcerer!" _Maebara and Battler considered each other; Battler nodded slightly, he wasn't sure how he should feel about the arrival; he didn't seem as obviously malicious as Featherine, but the case of Bernkastel and Lambdadelta had taught him to be wary of any magical creature that seemed to be friendly. _"Yes, back in my day one was not lauded to the position of a Sorcerer so quickly; especially the position of Endless Sorcerer..." _His head turned once more, back to where Lambdadelta still sat siltently fuming. _"And the last one would be... Bernkastel."_

The two exchanged glances; Maebara and Bernkastel sat silently staring at one another. For the briefest of moments, Bernkastel's mouth twitched upwards; she seemed to be on the verge of a smile. Suddenly, her face soured; she made a frown and coldly nodded to Maebara. He turned away, slowly; as if he had been disappointed by the outcome. Battler considered the pair for a moment, then irritably began to speak:

_"Well, I suppose that this is fair enough for you magical creatures; chumming it up without a care in the world. I on the other hand will not stand for this. Not only do I have to face Bernkastel and Lambdadelta; but now more people have appeared?" _Battler pinched the bridge of his nose; he sighed deeply and continued, _"This game was supposed to be between Beatrice and I; but now the rest of you dare to interfere? I tolerate Bernkastel and Lambdadelta only because I need the game to bring Beatrice back to her full self. The rest of you however, can make yourselves scarce."_

_"A rather poor show for our host; don't you think?" _Featherine suddenly inquired of her peers. _"A game is open territory in the magical community; anyone may join. You have no right to-"_

_"-In the barbaric world of the other witches perhaps," _Battler interrupted, voice as cold and hard as steel. _"Beatrice is superior to the rest of you; cruel monsters and interfering bastards and bitches alike." _Beatrice smiled warmly at the comment, Virgilia glanced at Battler with a shadow of doubt.

_"And you presume yourself and Beatrice to be superior? __You are an incompetent, blind fool Battler Ushiomiya.__" _Lambdadelta shot back. _"Your bias will be the death of you. You're beginning to reek of bias; Beatrice has gotten into your head: hook, line, and-"_

_**"And we are the bad people here?" **_Battler roared, the assembly of magical creatures bristled at the sudden outburst. Beatrice shied back; she seemed to be frightened. Struggling to master his temper; Battler continued to rant in constricted tone, _"Perhaps I am biased. But Beatrice and I are still better people than the lot of you. Virgilia aside-" _He nodded briefly at the silver haired witch; she nodded in return, _"__-the rest of you are monsters who play with peoples lives.__ I can't speak for either Maebara or Featherine; but undoubtedly you two are," _he gestured at Bernkastel and Lambdadelta.

_"__Good and evil are not the only standards by which one should be judged.__" _Maebara quietly muttered from his seat. His comment seemed to end the debate; everyone settled down and sat in a cold silence. Battler glanced from Beatrice to the others and back again. After a few minutes of uncomfortable quiet; he coughed and began to apologize:

_"I am sorry for my outburst; my mind had not been clear since the loss of Beatrice..." _He struggled for a moment to find the proper words. _"I... I will consent to letting Bernkastel become the Game Master of the new board. But on the condition that Featherine and Maebara do not; under any circumstances interfere with the game." _

_"While I agree to your exclusion of Maebara; I will not allow myself to be ousted from this game so easily," _Featherine addressed Battler. _"I came into this game to be entertained; and in no way will I allow upstarts like you to do as they please." _She finished her retort icily; gave Battler a dark glance. He felt slightly intimidated; but he held strong and remained level with her glare.

_"I am doing this on a mission from the Witch's Senate." _Maebara made his own retort immediately after Featherine. _"Obviously, it is very difficult to perform a mission properly if you are not where you need to be. I will not be removed from this game either."_

Battler rankled at the open challenge to his authority by the both of them. _"Then in that case, I will disallow Bernkastel from taking the title of Game Master. Beatrice and I will suspend the game; we are capable of waiting until you all come to your senses." _He adjusted himself in his chair with deliberate care; his move had put his opponents over a barrel, so to speak. They all desired the continuation of the game; if it stalled, they would all lose. Battler traded a conspiratorial look with Beatrice; she grinned wickedly in response.

_"If you two are done being obvious- bad acting I must say- I would like to shoot down the silly notion that you two have won." _Featherine's dark smile had suddenly returned; Battler began to feel uneasy again. _"I am Featherine, Witch of Theatrics; I assumed you would be smart enough to figure out my power from that title, but I suppose I was wrong. I can control any game, any game of my choosing; with the power of the playwright. In other words, my power as the playwright supersedes even yours; I can make Bernkastel the Game Master whether you like it or not. As a human once said, 'There is no world without theater,' after all. I control everything." _Featherine laughed openly, haughtily; Battler suddenly felt the crushing weight of futility in light of Featherine's power.

He glanced at Beatrice; who appeared just as hopeless as he did. Featherine's chuckles died down; she regarded the pair with a smug face. Suddenly; something occurred to Beatrice, a smile came to her face as she tapped Battler on the shoulder.

_"Perhaps they will not go willingly..." _She said mischievously with a sly glance in Featherine and Maebara's directions. _"But that doesn't mean we can't 'make' them go..." _She left the thought dangling; her meaning was obvious enough. Everyone in the room regarded Beatrice with incredulity' minus Battler, who seemed to be considering her suggestion seriously. He began to slowly nod; rising, he clapped his hands together and began to address the room.

_"This shall be the contract. I will accept Bernkastel as Game Master; regardless of whether you two agree to leave or not. If you do not leave; I shall summon my furniture to kill the both of you. If you do leave; it shall be finished. So, what shall you do?" _He looked around the room; half expecting to see the assembled witches agreeing with him. Instead, they began to laugh.

_"Oh- oh dear thats rich!" _Featherine choked on her words, she doubled over in her chair; laughing herself silly._"You- you honestly think that you can-" _The rest of her words were lost in her fit of laughter. Bernkastel and Lambdadelta held each other laughing loudly, Maebara seemed to be restraining a chuckle only with difficulty. Beatrice frowned; she did not understand the hilarity in her suggestion. Battler grimaced, he probably should have expected the arrogant witches to act like this. He patiently waited for their laughter to die down, then addressed them once more:

_"So I take it then, that you will not consider my offer?"_

_"Go ahead and attack us if you wish," _Maebara cheerfully offered the redheaded Sorcerer. _"Trust me, it will not get you far; but you could always try. Who knows, perhaps Bernkastel will be favorable to you and give you a miracle?_ _We'll even give you the benefit of a first-strike; go on Battler Ushiromiya, you may make the first move." _Featherine nodded in agreement, the pair of them stood; apparently awaiting Battler's attack.

Battler paused; he considered the situation. Their confidence made him uneasy, unsure. He exchanged glances with Beatrice; she seemed to be uncertain about her own suggestion. He shrugged, she smiled in response. Emboldened by her gesture; he decided to go for it.

_"Virgilia, summon Ronove and Gaap and attack Featherine. I'll use the Stakes of Purgatory on Maebara." _His hand descended to his robe, he began preparing the summons in his mind.

_"Battler-san... I don't think that this is such a wise..." _Beatrice caught her gaze; naive assurance emanated from the blond witch's eyes. Virgilia's retort died in her throat; with a heavy sigh, she summoned Gaap and Ronove into the world. Giving them their orders; she stood parallel to Featherine, who regarded her with the look that a wolf would give it's prey. Across from them, Battler and Maebara evenly regarded one another; with a gesture from Battler , the Seven Stakes appeared in formation between Maebara and herself. Maebara tapped lightly at his chin, then made a gesture in response:

They appeared; three men wearing indigo blue tights and flouncy dress shirts of a similar color. Their sleeves were frilly, their blue tights furled up to knee level. It was a silly ensemble that would look outdated in Dark Ages Europe. Considerably less silly looking were the impressively long pikes that they held with seeming ease in their hands; the handles were of burnished mahogany wood, the heads of the pikes glimmered with a red aura. The apparent leader; a tall black haired man sporting a trimmed beard; turned to Maebara and saluted. _"The SS Van Dine and I, Wizard-Hunting Wright; stand at your service."_

_"The SSVD?" _Lambdadelta asked; with a hint of awe tinting her voice. _"Impressive. The council must be really desperate if they assigned them to you." _Bernkastel and Featherine nodded in unison. Virgilia openly groaned; Battler and Beatrice looked at each other in doubt. Rarely was Virgilia disturbed by anything; the SSVD must have been a formidable force to elicit such a response from her. But it was too late now; Battler was sure that giving up now would cause him to lose even more power to his unwanted guests. He had to plow on; even if the threat of losing was clear. He motioned to the Stakes and Virgilia:

_"Right. Attack your targets now."_

_"The SSVD? Are you suicidal Battler-kun?" _Lucifer asked the question with some nervousness; her sisters uneasily considered their counterparts. Battler gave a slight nod; with a rueful smile; Lucifer ordered her sisters to charge. Likewise, and with equal amounts of regret; Virgilia did the same for Ronove and Gaap. The sides clashed: Battler and Maebara, Virgilia and Featherine. Wright barked orders to his two counterparts, they held out their pikes and began to parry the Stakes and their arm-blades:

_"Vance, hold the pike closer to your center! Benson, one of them is behind you; adjust your positioning to account for her!" _All this while fighting three of the Stakes singlehandedly. Lucifer shouted orders in response; the sisters converted into their signature stakes and began to whistle menacingly throughout the room. Satan was slightly too slow to transform; a pike thrust from Vance felled her. Even in stake form the Stakes found it difficult to pierce the SS Van Dine's defenses: here Mammon and Asmodeus were cut down in mid-flight by Wright, there Leviathan was brutally impaled onto the wall by Benson. The remained stakes grew increasingly ragged and desperate; soon they were all dead, blood flowing thickly onto the ground. Wright dusted off his shirt; none of the three SSVD had taken a scratch.

Battler gaped in horror and shock. Backing away from the grisly scene slowly; he turned to consider Virgilia's battle. An even worse sight greeted him there. Bits and chunks of corpses had been strewn throughout the room; blood was splattered up the walls and even onto the ceiling. Featherine, Lambdadelta, and Bernkastel had congregated around a mangled body; only vaguely recognizable as that of Virgilia's. She had been brutally disemboweled, her bloody intestines spilled out onto the floor like many sausage links. And the three of them were treating them as such; daintily chewing on the viscera as if they were cookies that one enjoyed with their tea. Featherine searched for Battler's gaze; she found it and gave him a truly malicious and evil smile, bloody teeth bared. Featherine hadn't even summoned any furniture; yet she had still massacred the forces sent at her. And she also hadn't taken a scratch.

Battler fell back into his seat; he felt slightly faint from nausea and despair. He had completely lost; and he was now the mercy of his opponents. He looked over and Beatrice; she seemed to be on the verge of vomiting, eyes glazed over and a hand clasped tightly onto her mouth. Their gambit had failed utterly; already Maebara approached him with a telling smile plastered onto his face.

_"I told you that such a move would not take you far." _Maebara put a hand against the golden throne and leaned above and before Battler; forcing their gazes to meet. _"You are lucky that you are an important factor for this game. I would be willing to spare you even if not; but trust me, Featherine is not that merciful." _From the group huddled over Virgilia's corpse came more chewing and gulping; Battler resisted the urge to be ill. _"As I'm sure you can tell, she has a taste for entrails; I've tried them myself once out of curiosity. They are surprisingly good; though the method for obtaining them is obviously less than savory." _Chuckling heartily; Maebara dismissed the SSVD and returned to his seat.

After a horrible minute of feasting, the three witches straightened up and returned to their seats; Virgilia's corpse left desecrated where it had fallen. Wiping at her mouth with a bloody cloth that Battler realized- with a jolt of horror- had formerly been Ronove's; Featherine smiled cruelly at Battler and Beatrice. Beatrice had subsided, sobbing quietly into her seat; Battler remained strong only with difficulty. Featherine nodded ironically at Battler.

_"It seems that I win. Act closed; if you will." _Bernkastel and Lambdadelta tittered; Featherine made a dramatic sweep of her hands as if ending a production. _"I must thank Maebara here- reluctantly mind you- for his wonderful role in destroying your Stakes. Now then, I assume that you will agree to all of my demands; seeing as how you have been crushed so throughly." _Battler nodded faintly. _"Right. I declare Bernkastel the master of the seventh game of Rokkenjima. Furthermore, Maebara and I shall be allowed into the game as actual players; not just observers. If that is all; then I shall be departing now. Feel free to revive your... furniture at your leisure. I hold no grudge against them." _A pause. _"Virgilia was delicious, after all." _Laughing, Featherine faded out of existence; followed closely by Bernkastel and Lambdadelta.

Maebara watched silently after them; then turned slightly to address Battler:

_"Be careful. This newest game shall have far more at stake." _He paused; considered his words. _"And consider expanding your viewpoint. You may think you have learned the truth, but there is always more to learn. __This game is far deeper than you have ever imagined it to be._ _I shall see you next game, Battler Ushiromiya."_

With that, Maebara was gone. Battler and Beatrice were left alone; silent in the gore spattered room.

* * *

**At some point I will remake Chapter 1 to bring it up to standards. But not now. **

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. EP7 : Englund Gambit

**Got a holiday, so it's a good time to get additional work done on this.**

* * *

**Episode 7 : Corruption of the Golden Witch**

**Move 2 : Englund Gambit**

_"Well. That was an unusual read; to say the least of it. So this would be the seventh story of Umineko? Why do you introduce all of these new characters; particularly yourself at this point into this story? Haven't you heard of 'self-insert fiction' or 'Mary Sues' before?" _Ange arched an eyebrow; Featherine laughed in turn:

_"Yes child. Give me some credit; I am a playwright after all. I have heard of those terms; it is up to you as to whether my characters could be considered to adhere to those descriptions. Self-insertion; that I will give you. However be assured that such power is the full extent of my own real power. I am writing this story realistically, " _Featherine concluded. Ange remained silent for a minute; considering Featherine's words.

_"Perhaps," _Ange conceded. _"But I thought you would at least be a good enough author to integrate yourself well. That didn't even seem remotely like how Battler or Beatrice would act. You twisted their personalities to suit yourself, " _Ange finished; her insinuation clear.

_"Ah, you are indeed an impudent child. No wonder so many in the magical community are interested in you; your behavior is quite unique." _Featherine offered Ange a kindly smile; she returned it reluctantly. _"Perhaps I twisted their personalities... or perhaps there is more to them than you first thought. It is all a matter of how you view things; I have always said this. The greatest playwrights all know that most matters are far too complicated to place under the crude distinctions of black and white."_

_ "In that case I might be accused of judging a book by it's cover- though that might not be the correct analogy- but at the same time I know my brother; I know thats the sort of thing he wouldn't do." _Ange paused, considered the conversation so far; then added _"I could be wrong. But it's my viewpoint that I am right; and there is nothing that you can do about that."_

Featherine laughed heartily; she said approvingly, _"Excellent point. I have no choice but to concede to you there." _Still chuckling lightly, Featherine turned her attention to the set of manuscripts splayed out before Ange. _"So then; are you willing to give me the rest of my story; or shall we just sit here critiquing it further?"_

Ange genuinely smiled at this; said, _"Ok then Featherine. I'll keep reading. Just don't think too badly of me if I think that you're wrong."_

**

Flashes appeared. Flashes of girls and boys, men and women; all gathered onto one island for the purpose of passing on the headship of the Ushiromiya family. None of them knew of the forces that conspired against them; to trap them in an endless hell of death and sorrow. And somehow, in some way; this was his fault. Battler mulled over each moment of the game a thousand times over in his mind. What was his sin? And why did it cause the murders on Rokkenjima? He had been sure of the answers before. But now... now he was not so sure.

Between memories of gore and slaughter Battler suddenly recalled Maebara's words, _"__This game is far deeper than you have ever imagined it to be.__" _He scratched at his chin; contemplating the meaning of Maebara's cryptic statement. Was he referring to the mystery itself? Or the humans who existed on the game board? Or perhaps it was the witches and sorcerers who played the game?

Battler let his mind return to the present; found Beatrice peaceably supping black tea from an intricately decorated golden cup; Ronove stood in attendance with a full tea pot beside her. Across from them sat Bernkastel, Lambdadelta, and Featherine; occasionally Ronove shot nervous glances at the trio but he remained stoically calm otherwise. Battler had revived Ronove, Gaap, and Virgilia from their less than pitiable states; since Featherine had conceded to allowing them to exist once more, Battler's Endless Magic would be able to permanently the three of them alive, provided that she didn't suddenly decide to affirm their deaths by her hand.

_"The game will begin shortly, Maebara is running late and it would be unwise to start without him," _Bernkastel muttered with a yawn.

_"Thats odd," _Battler said with a hint of resentment. _"You never stopped the game for me. I don't recall the game being delayed on my behalf; in fact I think you two started early to spite me, correct?" _Lambdadelta offered him a catlike grin; Bernkastel shrugged.

_"Unlike you; Maebara is enough of a threat to me to warrant the courtesy of awaiting his arrival. Besides; Lambdadelta was the one who began the game prematurely, I only went along with the situation she as Game Master gave to me." _Lambdadelta bristled at this; she pouted childishly:

_"Bernkastel thats cruel! I assure you Battler that __our decision in the matter was mutual!__" _Lambdadelta indignantly railed against Bernkastel; Battler and Beatrice watched with hints of mutual amusement. _"Besides," _Lambdadelta began with a coy look. _"The real reason Bernkastel is being this preferential to Maebara is simple. __The two of them were once lo-__" _A sudden outcry from Bernkastel; she had tackled Lambdadelta into the ground and clamped a hand furiously over her mouth. Battler and Beatrice exchanged glances; suddenly confused. Featherine simply laughed.

Bernkastel began to yank furiously at Lambdadelta's pale hair; she punctuated each painful pull with a word. _"I- told- you- never- to- mention- that- __**again!" **_With a final cold glare she extracted herself from the mess of hair and took her seat again; fuming. Lambdadelta was left on the floor of the room, eyes watering over in pain. She managed to pull herself to her feet after a minute of silent recovery; she stumbled her way into her throne with difficulty. She sat herself down with what dignity she could muster and began to brood. The pair made an oddly hilarious sight; Battler felt himself resisting the urge to chuckle. Covering his mouth to mask the smile; he posed his question to Featherine; the only magical person in the room who seemed to know what was going on and was willing to elaborate:

_"So, erm... Lady Featherine, correct? Yes, would you be kind enough to explain the issue at hand?" _He kept his tone humble, deferential; the battle that had occurred perhaps a day ago still weighed heavily in his mind.

Featherine considered him for a moment, then nodding; began to elaborate. _"As you should have gathered from my attitude towards Maebara; he and I have been at odds for a long time, perhaps longer even than my memory discs can recollect." _She indicated the horn-like structures on her head; Battler nodded. _"An apprentice of the Witch Iotazeta at the time got the audacity to challenge Maebara __to a game; she is now known as Lady Lambdadelta." _She indicated the blond witch sulking in her throne across from Beatrice; Lambdadelta groaned and turned away. Battler again felt the odd desire to chuckle; Featherine grinned wickedly and proceeded:

_"In their game an entity arose from the impressive will of a certain piece; the strength of her desire brought forth a miracle that allowed Maebara victory after a century of attrition. Somewhere in the process; this entity and Maebara would begin some sort of relationship; allegedly the reason Maebara seceded the title of Strongest Sorcerer alive to Lambdadelta despite being victorious was to allow for this relationship to blossom. By the time Bernkastel came to me to become my apprentice however; the relationship had somehow been ended. Do not ask me why, both have been extremely cryptic as to the details of their relationship. That is as much as I know."_

_ "I see..." _Battler began to stare into the distance; mulling over Featherine's words. Was this what Maebara had meant by saying that he; Battler didn't know the full truth yet? The game was far deeper than he had imagined, he had said. Come to think of it; Battler had never supposed that the witches besides Beatrice would have had issues of their own. Perhaps he had been too judgmental. He glanced over once more at his angel, his Beatrice; sighed.

_"Even if the witches have issues; even if the game is far more complicated than I could imagine..." _He muttered to himself resolutely under his breath. _"I must win it. For my sake; for my families sake. And for Beatrice's sake." _His mind was made up. The game would be won at any costs.

Across from him Featherine smiled knowingly.

**

_"Oh come on!" _Ange had actually put a hand to her forehead; she sighed in practical exasperation. _"I'm not much of an author myself, I'm not that savvy to the ways of writing; but isn't that breaking the fourth wall or something?_

Featherine shrugged. _"Everything in a story has a purpose. The Law of Conservation of Detail; if you will. Anything that the author says has some sort of reasoning to it; this is no exception. Though I am writing through myself; I am trying to make a point here, not simply seem omniscient. Besides, if you consider that this actually occurred on some level; I am merely reporting the facts. __**Everything I write in this story has basis in something factual.**__" _

Upon seeing the gold; Ange knew she had no choice but to agree. _"Is it hypocritical to judge your writings when I myself am not an author? I don't know. I will stop critiquing you now. But promise to me, at the very least; that you will write the final manuscript with less emphasis on yourself." _

Featherine nodded in agreement. _"Very well; I will make the utmost effort to do so. Now, shall we get back to the reading of the story?"_ She gestured at the already unrolling parchment before Ange with a flourish of her walking cane. Ange nodded; clearing her throat she took the closest paper, and began to read:

_"After this vow that Battler had made to himself was affirmed, the Sorcerer of Faith finally arrived after a considerable delay. With his belated coming to the game, the next iteration of the Rokkenjima murders could at last begin. On a warm summer day on an island of seventeen unknowing fools; the Corruption of the Golden Witch began to unfold..."_

**

_"Uuu~!" _Maria ran in full fluster after Battler; he held her black crown over his head tauntingly. _"Give Maria back her crown!" _She jumped for it, missing due to the disparity of their heights; began pounding ineffectually at the laughing red-headed boy.

_"You're going to have to try better than that Maria! Here-" _He brought the crown lower; she jumped for it and he snatched it up again. _"-Whoops! Too slow there!" _Maria continued to pound uselessly at Battlers side; he continued to laugh heartily. _"Come on Maria, you have to want it to get it!" _Suddenly she stopped; she seemed to be fixated on something behind Battler. _"What, you stopped already? Giving up never helps-"_

With a cry of surprise and pain, Battler was struck to the ground by a hard fist. Behind him Jessica stood with an exasperated expression on her face; her fist balled up and still slightly red from the impact. George stood with her; smiling in amusement. Jessica bore down upon the prone Battler; she wrested the crown from his hand and delicately returned it to Maria. The two girls smiled openly at one another; Maria took the crown and reverently placed it back upon her hair. George made his way to Battler, still groaning in pain; he offered a hand and pulled him into a standing position.

_"Come now Battler," _George reprimanded him sternly. _"Thats no way to treat a cousin; especially one who is so much younger than you. Now go apologize to Maria." _He turned his back to the group; one could hear him chuckling despite their proximity. Battler rolled his eyes, then turned to Maria and offered in a sincere tone:

_"I am very sorry Maria." _He paused; scratched his chin in mock consideration. _"I know! Why don't we go get you a snack or something in the kitchens?"_

_ "Uu~! Ok!" _In childish excitement Maria ran ahead of the group, past the sizable rose gardens and into the mansion proper; leaving the three elder siblings in her wake. Jessica shot a disgusted look at Battler then followed suit; calling Maria's name. Battler and George exchanged glances; then proceeded into the mansion as well.

Navigating the extensive hallways of the mansion; they found that Maria and Jessica had been diverted by a thick wooden door. The two were on the floor; kneeling in utter silence against the wooden fixture; their hands cupped at their ears in an apparent attempt to catch the sound from within the room. George made to them, opened his mouth to inquire; Jessica put a warning finger over her lips and continued to listen. George looked taken aback for a moment; he then shrugged and joined his female cousins at the doorway. Battler considered the odd scene for a moment; then shrugged and muttered to himself:

_"When in Rome." _He joined his cousins at the door. After a bit of quiet scuffling to adjust their positions accordingly; the four cousins manged to fit themselves into the limited space before the door. They were less than comfortable, their positions were awkward; but they would make do. Still fidgeting in discomfort; the four began to listen at the door in earnest.

_"You misunderstand what I am saying." _The gruff, masculine tone; the slight drawl identified the speaker as Krauss Ushiromiya. Jessica scowled slightly; her relations with her parents were less than swell. _"I am only trying to point out that the inheritance is a major responsibility. I am not insinuating that any of you are unfit to take the position as head of the family; but at the same time-"_

_ "-That is exactly what you are insinuating." _A stern, regal females voice interrupted Krauss' speech; Eva Ushiromiya. _"You see Rudolph? Rosa? He is clearly trying to state that we are incompetent to take the title." _An angry buzz of agreement and muttering broke out; over the din Eva continued to spite Krauss, _"When of course we know that Krauss is a less than admirable choice himself. How is your resort deal going by the way? 'NASA' backing you up in your 'space resort' yet?" _At this the assembled adults cackled; Krauss let out a noise of outrage.

_"Please sister! That deal has been severely misrepresented!" _Battler glanced up at Jessica; who had taken a portion of the door above his. Seeing his query she shook he head ruefully; quietly mouthed a contradiction to Krauss' retort. Battler nodded and returned his ear to the door to catch his own stepmother, Kyrie; coolly in the midst of her own address:

_"-Thus we must assume that Krauss is either lying here; or is truly as incompetent as Eva claims. Of course lying about having succeeded in ones ventures is counterproductive; unless Krauss has a reason to avoid taking the headship. I highly doubt that this is the case; thus we must assume that Krauss has failed and is unworthy of the headship." _Krauss and Natushi let out simultaneous cries of protest; Eva laughed haughtily. _"But," _Kyrie continued, _"At the same time we can see that Eva is being bellicose here; she is attempting to rally us to her cause against Krauss. If Krauss is the most incompetent, then he is the least of a threat to take the headship; Eva and Hideyoshi on the other hand have a highly successful business venture that is perhaps in the least amount of danger of all of our companies. Thus, we must conclude that Eva is the largest threat; and if anything we should rally against her."_

Eva was left sputtering in rage; the other adults murmured among themselves. Battler nodded to himself; he had to admit that it had been an excellent move on the part of his adoptive mother to call out both parties like that. He turned to his other cousins; their expressions of slight awe affirmed his thoughts. Shifting his body as much as he could to stretch out some of his sorer muscles; he returned again to the door.

_"Even if my husbands venture is the most successful that does not guarantee us the headship. Krauss is our fathers caretaker after all." _A general murmur of consensus at this. _"Thus, who is it to say that Krauss has not somehow turned Kinzo to his favor? For all we know; he may have silenced father to secure the headship for himself!"_

_ "Outrageous!" _The interjection came from Natushi; she seemed to have been offended by Eva's accusation. _"The mere thought is absurd! Eva here is obviously casting wild accusations and falsehoods; to turn this house in upon itself!" _Battler could practically visualize Natushi pointing an accusatory finger at Eva.

_"Perhaps," _Eva coldly conceded. _"But that is something that you can't prove. But we know that you have the most contact with Father; who knows how this could affect the struggle for the headship?" _The assembled cousins at the door heard a hard rapport on wood; evidently Eva had brought her fist down onto the table. The rattle of silverware and plates quickly dissipated; Eva made a dark ultimatum:

_"In this race for the headship; either you are on my side, or his." _Battler assumed that Aunt Eva was referring to Krauss in her speech. _"So what shall it be? Are you with me or against me? I expect an answer now- who's side are you on?"_

**

_"That reminds me," _SorcererBattler suddenly said. _"Have we determined the sides for which Maebara and Featherine are fighting for and against in this game?" _He posed the inquiry to Bernkastel, who turning her eyes from the game board. She considered the question for a few moments; then offered Battler a shrug.

_"I assume you would mean their victory conditions; which would essentially determine the faction that they supported." _Battler nodded in affirmation; Bernkastel continued. _"In that case I am not sure. I did not require their victory conditions to begin the games; thus I did not bother asking either of them. You may if you wish." _She froze the game; Lambdadelta sighed and pulled a packet of candy from a pocket.

_"Patience Lambdadelta, we'll resume presently." _Lambdadelta shrugged and began to consume the sweets. Battler then turned to Maebara; who had been jotting down something or another onto a notepad since the beginning of the game. Battler nodded at Maebara; he returned the gesture and allowed him to ask, _"What would be your victory conditions in this game?" _Maebara considered the question for a moment; then responded:

_"I am here on duty of the Senate; thus I have little reason to choose a side by which I will play. However, if I must; I will choose them to be the ending of the game with the refuting of witches involvement in the murders of Rokkenjima. That seems to be a fair choice."_

_ "So you are on our side then?" _Beatrice asked: she indicated Battler, Virgilia, and herself with a sweep of the hand.

_"In a way; yes." _Maebara nodded; Beatrice exchanged an exited glance with Battler. _"But I am here on a mission for the Senate; all of you are under scrutiny by my superior. Thus if any one of you are singled out by the Senate; I shall be authorized to end you, regardless of whether I supported you in the game or not." _Beatrice looked crestfallen; Battler sighed. Even his allies would turn on him if the situation called for it.

_"Right. So Lady Featherine; would you kindly give us your victory conditions as well?" _Battler posed the question timidly to Featherine; he still feared her though she had shown no signs of malice towards him since the incident with Virgilia. Featherine nodded, addressed the question:

_"My conditions are simple. If the game comes to any sort of conclusion, regardless of which side is victorious; I shall claim a victory within the game proper." _Virgilia frowned at this; she posed a question of her own to the Witch of Theatre:

_"Forgive me for asking this; but are those conditions not slightly vague? Thus no matter what the outcome is; you can use it to your advantage..." _She trailed off under scrutiny from Featherine; gulped and silenced herself. Chuckling; Featherine began to explain:

_"True. But remember that I am primarily an observer; I care not so much for the win than I do the journey that we undergo to reach that conclusion. Here; I shall even say this: __Regardless of the outcome of this game; I will never use that outcome to my advantage.__"_

Battler nodded. It seemed like a shifty thing to do; making the victory conditions so vague; but Featherine had used the Red Text to affirm her innocence. Besides, she was still the superior to all of them with the possible exceptions of Maebara and Lambdadelta; there was no point in fighting a battle he would undoubtedly lose anyways.

_"If thats over and done with; lets resume this game already! I'm getting bored over here you know." _Lambdadelta whined; she shook the now empty packet pointlessly over her hand. Bernkastel looked around the room; the assembled magical beings nodded; with their common consent she was allowed to resume the game. A flourish of her hand; the frozen world of Rokkenjima slowly began to come to life once more.

**

The four cousins eavesdropping at the door were startled by a sudden cough; looking about in unison, they found Genji along with Shannon. They were bearing trays of tea and crumpets; apparently intended for the adults within the room. Of course, the four cousins blocking the door made it difficult to deliver their refreshments; with hushed apologies and some painful movement the four cousins extracted themselves from the entryway. Genji considered them for a second; then entered the room without a word, Shannon and the four cousins on his heels.

Eva had indeed struck the table with her fist; it was still there, palm outstretched onto the burnished wood. Opposite her; Krauss was standing as well, a snarl evident on his face. The remainder of the adults had occupied the seating between the two; heads turning from one to the other as if watching a game of tennis.

Everyone turned upon the opening of the door; the arrival of food and their children seemed to diffuse the tension in the air. With obvious difficulty; Eva and Krauss took their respective seats and did their best to look calm and collected. Jessica rolled her eyes; Battler avoided doing so with difficulty. The adults began to banter among themselves; the refreshments were passed around the table and the children invited to join the adults at the long dining room table.

Battler sat himself beside his father; Rudolf, took Rudolf's offer of tea, and began to drink. Between sips he appraised the rest of his extended family. Rosa; youngest of the siblings listened to her daughter Maria and smiled. Battler considered the both of them to be the model of a great family; from what he knew anyways. His own family, adoptive mother Kyrie and biological father Rudolf had gained a major advantage in the conflict over the headship at this meeting; their decision regarding Eva's ultimatum would most likely decide the victor. Georges family; Eva and Hideyoshi had a stable and prosperous relationship. Battler could tell however that Eva's ultimatum had been a rashly made move; she had forced herself into taking action and could still lose. And of course, eldest sibling Krauss and Natushi; Battler held them to be a troubled family at best.

Despite the light conversation and pleasantries that were exchanged amongst the siblings; Battler could sense the tensions that ran beneath the projection of friendliness. Battler sighed; he wished that the relationship amongst the adults could be more like that of his relationship to their children. Though George, Jessica, Maria, and himself were competitive; they were also genuinely friendly and understanding towards one another. In contrast; the adults were constantly at one another's throats for the headship.

Battler sighed; took a crumpet from a passing Shannon. Biting into it; he began to think. What if this all spiraled out of control? How far could it all go?

**

It would be an hour or so later that the meeting would be adjourned; the individual families retired to their bedrooms or to the game room. Maria had wandered off from her companions; they had gone off for a swim at the beach while she had broken away under the premise of wanting to explore the mansion. In the abandoned entryway; before the portrait of Beatrice she emptied out the contents of her purse; documents upon which she had written various incantations and magical symbols. Glancing about herself to make sure that nobody was around; she began to study the papers eagerly.

_"Within the Lesser Key of Solomon; 72 demons, the pillars of Hell that are called upon by the witch titled Beatrice. Ronove, Gaap, Furfur, Zepar; are among the names listed within this source." _Maria smiled earnestly; she turned the papers to the unmoving portrait and pointed at them happily. _"See Lady Beatrice? These are your friends!"_

_ "The term 'friends' would be putting it a bit strongly." _A voice echoed throughout the room; Maria looked about in wariness. A girl suddenly appeared between Maria and the portrait; Maria stumbled backwards in surprise. She was an elaborately dressed girl; possessing curled light purple hair and holding a shimmering red sword. Maria had the vague feeling that she had seen this girl somewhere before. _"The term 'furniture' is most accurate."_

_ "Are you magical?" _Maria asked breathlessly; still in shock from the girl's rather sudden appearance. The purple haired demon nodded; Maria suddenly felt herself grinning from ear to ear. _"Magic exists!" _Practically shouting in joy; Maria jumped up and hugged the demon. The demon returned the gesture awkwardly; Maria released her with a wide grin. _"Maria was right, and now she can show everyone! Uu~!"_

_ "You 'could'. But you can't." _Before Maria could register the words the glowing sword cut through her; destroying the concept of her existence with the power of the Red Key. Dlanor looked upon the body with distaste as it crumpled unceremoniously to the floor. _"Your human side is gone now. All that is left is the witch." _And true to her word; another person materialized in a shower of golden butterflies over the now deceased Maria. She was exactly like Maria: same face, same eyes, same hair. However her garb was different; a black dress complete with frills and a golden scepter. MARIA, Witch of Origins considered her own dead body; then spoke to Dlanor:

_"You killed me? An odd thing to do I must say," _She nudged human Maria's body over with a foot; her corpse was unscathed; only the concept of her life had been destroyed, not her body. _"I suppose this has something to do with the game, uu~?"_

_ "As you should well know by now Lady MARIA. Battler has lost the title of Game Master; and it has been given to Lady Bernkastel. Bernkastel has declared that a new detective must be found; one that is impartial to the desires of the players involved in the game. For now; she has nominated you."_

MARIA nodded at Dlanor. _"So you have brought me into existence to ask for my permission?" _Dlanor nodded in turn; MARIA continued, _"If that is the case; I will accept my naming as detective of the seventh game. So you will be using my human form; correct?"_

_ "Yes. She will be revived by Battler and given the title of detective. If that is all then, you may return to your realm; Lady MARIA." _MARIA nodded; with a smile and a wave she disappeared from existence. Dlanor sighed and followed suit.

Human Maria awakened; straightened up in confusion. The portrait remained silent. All the traces of magic were gone.

**Right. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. To Witch of Data I plan for there to be anywhere from 5 to 10 chapter per Episode; and 2 Episodes remaining. Updates should be regular; though I have yet to establish a schedule.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. EP7 : Desperado

**Episode 7 : Corruption of the Golden Witch**

**Move 3 : Desperado**

The house was still. Night had fallen like a cloak over the sky and extinguished all. The moon was new; nonexistent in the skies of Rokkenjima. All was quiet; not even the cry of seagulls could be heard. All that one could hear was the distant breaking of waves upon the beach; repetitive, quiet roars of the ocean soothing to the frayed mind. Everyone on the island had been lulled to sleep by the calming noise; not a person stirred in the house.

In a room on the second floor dozed Maria; dressed in a pinkish nightgown and snugly wrapped into a thick comforter. Her body was still, her breaths quiet and deep. She had fallen asleep fully; nothing was likely to awaken her in a state such as this. No, Maria remained ignorant of the world as she slept; lost in dreams of magic and other childish things. She would not awaken for the rest of the night; her slumber was too deep to be broken.

The silence of the room was broken by the silent creaking of the door; slowly being pushed ajar by an unknown figure from outside her room. A sudden creak from the hinges; a silent oath could be heard from the unknown enterer. Seconds passed; the door seemed to bulge forward as if a weight had been set on it's other side. Rapidly, without any further noise the door was fully opened. The hallway lights had been extinguished as well; the figure who had opened the door was only a vague shadow in the darkness of the room. Slowly, ominously the figure approached the bed.

Upon reaching a position over Maria's bed; the figure drew to a halt. He or she considered the peacefully slumbering girl; shaking his or her head, the figure drew an ornamentally decorated stake from a sleeve. The figure moved a free hand over the girl's forehead; brushing a stray hair away with a deft flick. Her forehead lay bare, exposed to whatever grim fate her would-be assailant had planned.

Suddenly; the loud grandfather clock a floor below tolled the midnight hour. The sound, while weaker due to the lack of proximity; still managed to ring dimly into the room. With another silent curse, the unknown figure pulled his hand back from the girl's face. He or she quietly dropped into a squatting position to drop himself or herself underneath the periphery the bed and out of Maria's eyesight. She rolled over; muttered something incomprehensible in her sleep. The man or woman remained perfectly still. After an unbearably tense minute or two, Maria rolled back into her original position with a contented sigh.

With his or her free hand the assailant wiped his or her brow; righted into a standing position again. Again, the assailant used a hand to brush away hairs that had been thrown wildly about by Maria's turning; her forehead was again bare and exposed. The hand gripping the stake was raised; with a sudden flash the point rested just above the girl's forehead. The stake trembled slightly; the figure took a deep breath to center himself or herself. With deliberate care the stake inched forward; the task ahead lay grisly and horrible to contemplate. Another steeling breath; the tip of the stake had just touched upon her skin...

The scene suddenly froze in place; a third figure emerged from nothingness into the room. Dlanor regarded the scene calmly; cocked her head to one side and summoned her Red Key into her palm. She deliberately approached the character; her grasp around the sword tight she began to raise the sword above her head; handle held loosely above her forehead. The sword glowered red in the darkness of the room, illuminating everything with an eerie red glow; Dlanor kept her eyes focused on her target. A step more and she would be in position to deal the blow; her muscles tensed in preparation for the strike.

_"And just what do you think you are doing?"_ Dlanor froze; groaned upon recognizing the voice. Behind her, Wizard-Hunting Wright coolly stood in the doorway to the room; face disconcerting in the reddish light that bathed the room. Dlanor sighed; dismissing the Red Key she pivoted to face her rival. He offered her a mocking grin then repeated his question, _"Again, what do you think you are doing?"_

_"In case you haven't gotten the news yet- not that it wouldn't surprise me-," _Dlanor began; voice cold. "_-Bernkastel has declared Lady Maria Ushiromiya to be the detective of the seventh game." _Wright nodded while motioning for her to continue. _"If you don't know this yet, __the detective of a game is not allowed to die until the Ninth Twilight; whereupon he or she is declared unnecessary to the continuation of the game.__ Thus, I must protect the detective as part of my charge to the current Game Master in the event of a game event threatening his or her life." _Wright nodded slowly, responded:

_"Ordinarily I would be fine with that Dlanor-chan," _Wright began; Dlanor bristling upon the usage of her first name in such a casual manner. Wright noted Dlanor's irritation; he grinned wickedly and continued:

_"But I am under my own charge- or did you think I was here; conversing with you of my own volition? No Dlanor-chan, regardless of what your misinformation on the topic; I am not a willing participant in this game- especially since you are one. But that is besides the point. Since I am under a charge from Maebara to prevent all magical interference into game by outside forces; I must stop you from killing the assailant. Besides, any excuse to irk you is one I will gladly use."_

Wright beamed sarcastically at Dlanor; she shot a dark glance back. The two of them; having been the children of Van Dine and Ronald Knox respectively, were rivals who upheld drastically different rulings of mystery. Thus they each found the other a competitor; their relationship could be described as a friendly rivalry at best, cordial loathing at worst.

_"Then would you feel free to suggest a way of preventing the detectives death then? _Dlanor raised an eyebrow at Wright as she uttered her retort; he shrugged. The two rivals stood silently in the darkness of the room for a minute; considered the options. Dlanor knew better than to risk fighting Wright, his strength was at least equal to hers and possibly stronger. At the same time, she couldn't abandon her charge, or risk severe punishment from Lady Bernkastel. Wright also couldn't leave until the situation was resolved, or risk breaking his own charge to Maebara. They were both stuck here until a solution for their predicament was found.

_"Hn..." _Dlanor bit her lip in thought. Her face suddenly light up. _"Lady MARIA of the Origin controls Maria within the game correct? If we summon her to the board to defend her piece, since she is an internal force in the game proper neither your charge nor mine is failed." _Wright scratched at his beard; nodding he responded:

_"That seems to be our easiest option. Yes, from what I can tell it breaks neither of our contracts. I'll do the honors, Dlanor-chan" _With an ironic salute, Wright disappeared in a flash of blueish power; Dlanor sighed in exasperation and followed suit. The room remained frozen in time; the killers stake poised right on the skin of Maria's forehead. A moment of absolute silence passed; the darkness of the room obscured all from sight; the face of the assailant shadowed by the darkness of midnight. And then; from the still body of Maria, golden light emerged. The room was thrown into brilliant illumination; the shadows fled as light flooded into all corners. From this light came Lady MARIA; scepter held impressively above her head. Immediately upon emerging she examined the room as the power of her entrance dissipated into darkness once more; seeing the assailant before her, she examined him or her in curiosity. A sudden frown, her eyes widened ever so slightly as she spoke:

_"Uu~! I know you... You are-" _Any further speech was interrupted by a burst of light from the unknown killer; his or her body was consumed by a brilliant aura. When the light faded away to leave the room in darkness once more the killer had vanished. In his or her place was another witch; this one a redhead bearing a larger duplicate of MARIA's own staff; a violet and black dress, and a hat complete with a rose. Eva-Beatrice, Witch of Anger stood before her; a malicious smile plastered onto her face.

_"Eva? No- Eva-Beatrice." _The Black Witch nodded slowly; menacingly. _"What are you doing here? If I recall; your spirit was rendered a fragment by Beatrice's denial of witches. What are you doing; reappearing now, of all times?"_

_"I am still linked to this game board as you yourself are. Geez, for a Witch with so much potential you are more than slightly dim; do you know that?" _Eva-Beatrice mercilessly mocked her; MARIA grimaced but held her tongue. _"It's so simple you know; anyone could figure it out. Anyways, since I can still influence the board; I figured I might as well lend some aid to the side I actively support, if you get my meaning." _MARIA inclined her head in a symbol of understanding. _"If you kill the culprit; my chances of beating Beatrice and getting out of this pathetic state dwindle to nothing. Thus I shall do my darnedest best to stop you. So I'll say it right now, to spare you the trouble. Just surrender and die, ok?" _She finished with a nonchalantly cheery tone; MARIA silently regarded Eva-Beatrice as she began to cackle.

_"Uu~. You are childish, even compared to me and my verbal tics. Neither of us; for the moment are tied to the meta world. Thus, we are at each others mercy. We may freely attack one another on the game board; the rules of the game do not apply when you are on it." _MARIA coolly addressed Eva-Beatrice; she stuck out her tongue in response. _"So you can retreat and be spared; or suffer the pain and humiliation of defeat. Again." _

_"Hah! Thats rich!" _Eva-Beatrice laughed haughtily; continued, _"An ultimatum is useless if the issuer is not even a threat. So what if we can engage in combat; so what if it's lethal? I'll make you WISH you had surrendered by the time I'm done with you!" _A furious sweep of her staff; three girls with a wild array of hair colors in bunny-like costumes appeared before her. _"Siesta Sisters of Pendragon, I call upon you to attend to me! Crush the Witch of Origins!" _The Siesta's emitted various affirmatives. Opposite them MARIA made her own move; in a flash she bounded out of the window directly above the bed; she flew from the mansion and shouted:

_"Duke Barbatos, eighth pillar of hell and greater demon in service to Beatrice; come to me!" _Hovering stoically in the salty air of the island MARIA extended a finger towards the mansion; as she did so an entity appeared beside her. Her hair was of shoulder length, silvery though dull in the darkness of the new moon. Like most of the female furniture she was scantily clad; a black leotard and frilled dark green blouse. She had metal anklets and wore simple sandals. Eva-Beatrice and the Siestas regarded the newcomer; she was probably not summoned often given that she looked unfamiliar to them. MARIA gestured impassively; Barbatos nodded and began to fly towards the mansion.

_"Sisters, bows at the ready!" _An intricate golden blade sprung from Siesta .00's arm; she held herself between her siblings and the oncoming demon. With simultaneous cries of affirmation they grasped each others hands; a string of golden light streamed from their hands and molded into a bow-like shape. The bow became solid, one hand from each sister pulled back on the bowstring as an arrow came into existence; nocking itself with supernatural ease. Siesta .45 began to utter a long stream of commands as their target rushed closer:

_"Target confirmed, oncoming at 17 miles an hour. Wind velocity negligible. All systems are operational; feeding code. Input not detected; switching input devices to adjust. Input detected now; firing in five... four... three... two... release!" _Siesta .45 and .410 removed their hands from the golden arrow; it flew forward in an arc of golden light. It rushed towards the oncoming Barbatos; Eva-Beatrice grinned wickedly at her counterpart as she was assured of her success. MARIA met her gaze- and smiled in response. Eyes widening, the redheaded witch quickly returned her gaze to Barbatos- and saw something truly odd.

As the rushing stream of golden power drew closer, Barbatos began to mutter something under her breath. The effect seemed to be negligible, none of them could catch the practically whispered words and the arrow flew towards Barbatos still. Closer, too close now; it seemed impossible for Barbatos to swerve from the arrows path or block the arrow with her own magic. And then it happened. A flash of white across the midnight black sky; a squawk of pain cut short.

A seagull had suddenly dived; seemingly into the path of the arrow. A bloody mass of whitish feathers fell to the earth; the mass of the seagull had forced the arrow off course and it arced harmlessly into the rose gardens below. Barbatos closed the remaining distance; a blue blade of similar decoration to Siesta .00's formed on her wrist. Siesta .00 held her ground; in an instant the two collided, blade to blade. Siesta .00 was rebuffed by Barbatos' sheer speed; she gritted her teeth as she struggled to hold her blade steady. Barbatos grinned wickedly; her velocity coming into the lock gave her the upper hand.

Finally Siesta .00 was forced to break the blade lock; she pulled her golden sword back with a grunt. Inertia pushed Barbatos' blade forward into Siesta .00's hand; the blonde bunny girl uttered a brief cry of pain and shock. The two demons collapsed to the floor, Barbatos' hair hung blindingly in Siesta 00's eyes; the two were breathing heavily from exertion. MARIA's furniture pulled her blade from Siesta 00's hand with difficulty; dark red blood flew freely from the wound as the bloody blade was held tip-first at the Siesta leader's throat.

_"Surrender. I have you at my mercy." _Barbatos had a gruff, almost masculine voice. _"My only charge is to protect MARIA by killing Eva-Beatrice; you can be spared." _Siesta .00 dazedly shook her head, Barbatos shrugged and made to drive her blade into the bunny girl's throat. It was only then that her opponent smiled; a mocking smile that she offered Barbatos as her own eyes widened in sudden shock.

In their struggle Barbatos hadn't noticed the other two Siesta's pull back; hadn't seen them preparing a second shot of their golden bow. The arc of shimmering light cut square through the silver-haired demon's left eye; blood and gore splattered onto Siesta .00 as the body collapsed onto her. With a grunt, Siesta .00 rolled the body of Barbatos off her own and stood up; she regarded the dead furniture with distaste. Eva-Beatrice, who had been passively watching the unfolding battle with delight; turned to the shattered window to belittle MARIA for her loss.

But the Witch of Origin's wasn't there. Eva-Beatrice scanned the sky in surprise; she was positive that MARIA had been there less than a minute ago. Only then was she suddenly aware of the Siesta's horrified gasps; only then was she suddenly aware of the shooting pains coming from her breast. She looked down in apprehensiveness; the glint of the one-winged bird that had been stabbed clear through her heart met her eyes. With a slight groan, The Black Witch slid off the sharpened symbol and onto the floor; the Siesta's disappeared in a flurry of golden butterflies as their master died and their bonds to the earth were broken. MARIA coldly regarded the corpse of the Black Witch as it lay lifeless upon the bedroom floor. A sweep of her golden staff: the room was restored, the window returned to it's undisturbed state, the blood staining the walls and carpet flew off into thin air as if it had never existed to begin returned to MARIA's side; her body restored to pristine condition.

_"Thank you Lady MARIA, for returning me despite my failure." _The demon nodded gratefully; MARIA acknowledged the gesture and dismissed the Duke. Eva-Beatrice vanished; in her place the corpse of the now dead culprit appeared. His or her own body was undisturbed; he or she would seem to have died peacefully. MARIA considered the dead person, her last words echoed throughout the room as she vanished into non being once more:

_"Uu~... I didn't think that it would be you; of all people." _

The room remained undisturbed through the rest of the night. When Maria awoke the next morning: she stretched, yawned, dressed herself into regular clothing and made her way down to breakfast. It wasn't until she was there when she learned that six mutilated corpses had been found before the portrait of Beatrice in the entry hall. Her own room had been quite clean. It was if nothing had happened the whole night.

**

"_**On the morning of October 5**__**th **__**at 4:15 in the morning when Rudolph Ushiromiya was making his way to the kitchens for an early snack; he stumbled upon the six mangled corpses arranged in a concentric semi-circle before the portrait of Beatrice hanging in the entry hall to the mansion. Amid general chaos Dr. Nanjo was summoned; though the bodies were extremely mutilated he was able to identify the victims: servants Genji, Gohda, Kumasawa, Kanon, and Shannon; plus family member Natushi Ushiromiya.**_" Bernkastel sounded bored; she inspected a cuticle with callous indifference.

Battler sighed, grasped lightly at the bridge of his nose. To this day- seven games after the first hell he had suffered- he still found it nearly impossible to not feel a sort of misery at his families deaths; their pointless deaths in this cruel game that had been established for innocent reasons then twisted, twisted into a labyrinth that consumed ones soul and left only a husk. A husk that rotted until all that was left within was hatred and cruelty; a husk that became a Witch. Battler felt himself avoiding such a fate only with difficulty; he could literally feel the pull on his stomach whenever a loved one died.

_"How many hours passed between each individual death?" _Beatrice had thrown herself fully into the game alongside Battler; united they would stand against the forces marshaled against themselves. Maebara was something of an enigma; to be considered only by the loosest of terms an 'ally'. It was only Beatrice and himself; together as a single light shimmering faintly within a smothering darkness, only barely glowing against the powers than conspired against them. It was a cliché simile to be sure; but Battler was all but positive of it's inherent truth.

_"__**Roughly 1 minute passed between each death.**" _Bernkastel halted, considered her words carefully. _"I would like to point out a series of rapid deaths all but impossible... without magic that is." _Bernkastel smiled icily; Beatrice shrugged. She gently lifted a cup of tea to her mouth; sipped lightly. Returning the cup to her saucer; she tapped at her chin with a finger, threaded idly at her hair. Battler and Maebara remained silent; respectfully waiting for her to finish her train of thought.

_"Not impossible exactly. Allow me to hypothesize:" _She took a breath, shimmering blue text began to form like mist around her. _"__**The nature of these rapid murders can be explained if the killer in question is... Maria Ushiromiya.**__"_Beatrice said the last bit with some hesitation; Battler took it as a positive sign that Beatrice was remembering her innate bond with the girl. _"__**If you take this as true, then the murders can be explained as each successive person coming to Maria's room upon being alerted of the previous ones death. Since the culprits bodies were moved; and at least one person had already died in her room, the speed of the deaths and simultaneous movements can only be explained if they all occurred in the same area."**_

_"__Knox's 7__th__; the detective is not allowed to be the culprit.__" _Dlanor, who had been standing stoically beside Bernkastel's throne since her departure from the game board; finally spoke. Her arms crossed deliberately; Bernkastel offered her opponents a wicked grin. Beside her, Lambdadelta watched the game with a slight hint of boredom; another chair over sat Featherine, whose expression was essentially unreadable. Beatrice seemed puzzled; remembering that she wouldn't have many memories of previous games Battler elaborated:

_"Knox's Decalogue. It is a system of rules that define mystery; we must adhere to all of them as the game itself could be defined as a mystery." _Beatrice nodded slowly; she began to reconsider. Finally, after a minute or so of deliberation she spoke:

_"__**Then another person- the culprit- took residence in Maria's room and from there slaughtered the targets without ever awakening Maria; then removed the bodies from the room.**__"_

_"__**Nobody minus the culprits and Maria were ever present in her room during the First Twilight.****" **_The golden text faded into nonexistence; Bernkastel payed it no heed. Beatrice bit her upper lip, then suddenly lit up and smiled.

_"Very well," _she began; voice strengthening as her confidence rose. _"But you have admitted that all of the murders take place in Maria Ushiromiya's room! So then repeat this: the murders of the First Twilight occur in areas other than Maria Ushiromiya's bedroom." _Beatrice smiled, Battler joined her. He found it ironic that the phrase he had once used so often against her was now her own. Another of the oddities of the game. Bernkastel snarled slightly; her lip curled.

_"I refuse." _Beatrice chuckled, a light chuckle that echoed faintly of the regal woman that she had once been; again Battler took it as a good thing that Beatrice was showing traces of her former self. Perhaps soon she would be back; and their relationship could blossom in earnest. But in the present, Beatrice was still not her full self. She was however, pressing her advantage against Bernkastel and going on the offensive.

_"Then I declare this: __All of the murders of the First Twilight occur in Maria's room.__" _Lambdadelta murmured in slight surprise, Featherine raised an eyebrow. Maebara shrugged slightly; he seemed to have been just as surprised at the turn of events as his counterparts. Battler nodded at Beatrice, she returned the gesture heartily and continued, _"__**The murders can be explained if one of the victims is actually the killer. In that case, they positioned themselves in the room and killed the others; but was killed by an outside force or a simultaneous murder by the last of his or her victims. **__**The **__**bodies were then moved by an unknown, unrelated culprit.**__"_

_"__**None of the victims of the First Twilight were the killers or culprits. Furthermore, no outside force interfered in anyway with the First Twilight.**" _Bernkastel held up a hand to gesture for a minute of time; grasped at a side table for her tea. Dlanor preemptively took the cup and personally handed it to Bernkastel; she nodded in acknowledgement and began to drink deeply. After a few seconds she stopped; deliberately lowered the tea cup and continued, "_**There was no trap or natural disaster of any sort that occurred in Maria's room that night.**_ _Maria herself could not be the killer if she was not the culprit.__"_ Bernkastel silently returned to her tea, leaving the room silent in her wake.

Beatrice sat down; robbed of her inertia she seemed to have run out of ideas. Battler considered the situation grimly; Bernkastel had essentially established a locked room, where nothing seemingly worked within the twisted scenario but magic. Battler's experience with previous locked rooms had been shaky at best; memories of his more naïve and childish theories floated back to him. 'Small bombs' indeed, even without hindsight Battler could tell how foolish those thoughts had been. The mystery of the locked rooms still evaded Battler though; the truth always taunted him, then fled from his mind just as he began to understand. And try as he might; it was always, always just out of reach.

Battler sighed, considered his own tea blandly. He mindlessly took a sip; deep in thought. This was going to be a long game. But it would end in his victory. It had to.

**

A break was announced in the game to allow the two sides time to plan and rest for the next segment. Despite the protests from Beatrice and Battler; Maebara had refused to join his allies in the planning session. He knew it was a poor show but at the same time he couldn't help it; Broglie had requested his appearance in a personal counsel with Lady Iotazeta. He was still beholden to the Senate on a professional level, still a friend to Iotazeta on a personal level; overall his reasons for leaving his allies behind were justified. In his own viewpoint, anyways.

So he departed from the board in a flurry of reddish sparks; traversed the abyss that permeated the kakera with nothing but his bat and a crudely wrapped silken parcel. He watched various worlds pass; saw various tragedies, mysteries, and romances unfold and break before his eyes. For a fleeting moment he could almost physically touch the palpable concepts; then they would vanish into the abyss. Maebara payed the fragments of life little mind; he had experienced this countless times before. After several moments more of travel, Maebara found the destination he sought; a temple perched atop a mountain in a world of mythological wonder. Here gods had once dwelt; now it stood as the throne room of Lady Iotazeta herself. Impassively he flew into the temple; materialized.

He emerged in a spacious room sealed off from the rest of the temple by thick bronze doors; huge constructions of inert metal that could not be moved by even an armies worth of men. A skylight had been carved expertly into the distant ceiling; golden light filtered down onto the inhabitants of the room. There were two besides Maebara himself; the black haired Broglie clad in a gray scholars robe who sat expectantly on a golden throne, and Iotazeta herself. She seemed to have aged significantly in the mere days that they had not seen one another; her hair was beginning to grow in gray, her mouth had shriveled, and her eyes had clouded over. She rested uneasily on a wicker bed; a bloody bucket lay on the floor beside her.

_"Ah, Lord Maebara; a pleasure to see you." _He practically sprang from his chair to greet the Sorcerer of Faith; he stopped before Maebara and extended a hand, Maebara took it indifferently. The youth led his older counterpart into a second empty throne beside Broglie's own; he sat himself into the chair without hesitation. _"You remember me of course?" _Broglie laughed nervously; Maebara considered him for a second.

Maebara suddenly rose an eyebrow as a memory came into mind. He spoke, _"Ah yes, Iota-chans little apprentice. If I remember, you took offense to my appearance in the Senate and retaliated against me; Iotazeta wisely reprimanded you for doing such." _Broglie's nervous smile slid off his face; he stuttered and slid uncomfortably into his chair. Maebara chuckled heartily as he continued reassuringly, _"Don't worry, as I said before I hold nothing against you. In fact I was impressed; loyalty is a rare trait for a magical creature. Myself included, fortunately or unfortunately; depending on how you see it." _Broglie nodded in relief; Maebara slouched casually in his seat. _"Take these," _he started while tossing the silk wrapped package to Broglie. _"They are cookies; those Ronove himself."_

Broglie murmured in appreciation and slight awe, _"Ronoves? You are too kind Maebara; I am sure that Iotazeta will enjoy these upon waking up." _He pointed silently at the bag; Maebara gave a curt nod. With an expression of delight the apprentice undid the knotted string holding the bag together; the silk unraveled and the rich cookies within were revealed. Broglie took one with some reverence; bit on the cookie and chewed delicately. _"Ah. Every bit as delicious as they are said to be." _Nodding with a vaguely dreamy expressing on his face, he set the unwrapped cookies aside; took another bite of the cookie. _"Anyways," _Broglie began after swallowing and wiping at his mouth with a sleeve. _"Master Iotazeta asked me to call you on a regular basis in the event that she herself was unable to do so." _Me identified the drowsing Iotazeta sadly.

_"So I take it then that she is not well?"_

_"An understatement." _Broglie shook his head in regret. _"The stress of recent developments is really getting to her; in addition to the Rokkenjima games there has been dissent amongst the Senate itself. We fear that more may follow the former senator Lambdadelta's example- well, I fear more than anyone else." _Maebara detected a hint of weariness in the apprentice's voice; a closer examination of Broglie showed a corruption of his youthful self. Worry lines creased his forehead and cheeks; his eyes were bloodshot and slightly unfocused. _"With Iotazeta being out of commission; most of her former duties have been relegated to me. It is... tiring; to say the least."_

_"I apologize for your unfortunate situation," _Maebara offered sincerely. _"I would offer to take on the responsibilities myself but... well. To tell you the truth I would rather not." _Both of them laughed at this, chortling at the joke until a violent cough from Iotazeta silenced them.

_"Well I will make this short then," _Broglie continued hastily. _"I merely need a report of your progress: what you have ascertained and your suggestions for dealing with the threat. I have managed to marshal a fair number of the Senate to our cause; they can take action immediately provided you can give us warrant to do so." _Maebara nodded; he held up a hand to ask for a minute. Silence passed; only Iotazeta's raspy breathing echoed eerily throughout the hall. Finally, Maebara cleared his throat; began:

_"To be honest... no. I have nothing concrete that you may yet act upon." _Broglie nodded; disappointment evident in his suddenly dull expression. _"Make no mistake; I am trying my hardest. But none of them show any solid evidence of an ulterior motive: even Featherine and Lambdadelta seem innocent. Well, as innocent as they can seem anyways." _At this Maebara cracked a smile; Broglie shrugged slightly and Maebara hastily continued, _"Battler obviously has only good intentions; though his lack of experience and viewpoint make him a potential source of trouble. Beatrice I am less sure of; she seems to be innocent enough, but I couldn't be sure. The rest of them show the standard model of cruelty and sadism; but again, nothing suggesting a hidden plan." _Maebara ended his report with a shrug; he was aware of how weak his observations had been.

_"Well..." _Broglie began dully. _"I... I honestly don't know. I am inexperienced in the face of powers like the lot of you; even Battler. I don't think I can be trusted to make the desci-"_

A sudden outcry from the bed; Iotazeta seemed to have pulled herself out of her semi comatose state with difficulty. She thrashed about, arms and legs flew weakly about the air. Maebara and Broglie exchanged surprised glances; they stood and made their way to the bed. Broglie grasped for one of Iotazeta's hands; grasped it lightly to indicate their presence. Iotazeta grunted; her second hand shot out to affirm Broglie's own. Her bony throat pulsed; her words came out with difficulty:

_"Bring them... to trial. Find-_" A fit of raspy coughing; Broglie and Maebara clutched at her arms and held her steady until she finished with a groan. She forced herself to continue, _"Find the... find the culprit of the game. I grant you the right to arrest... arrest the... the culprits as you find them. The rest I leave... up to you Maebara." _Meabara nodded; Broglie continued to grasp her hand reassuringly. More coughing; she finally managed to barely choke out:

_"_ _I am counting... counting on you. Do not screw this up." _With a sudden convulsion she rolled over; Broglie released her hand and jumped back in surprise. A violent retching noise; Maebara turned away in disgust. After several seconds he turned around; Iotazeta had curled up into a ball and lapsed back into her comatose state, bright red blood and bile dripping from her chin. Broglie had fallen to the floor; he sat dazed for a few seconds before recovering. He glanced at his shoes, uttered an oath:

_"Well, she missed the bucket..." _Broglie smiled ruefully at Maebara; he offered a silent condolence in response. _"It would be best if you leave now Lord Maebara; leave and return to the game. I will remain here to care for Master Iotazeta. Send a message once you get the information we need." _

Maebara nodded; as he disappeared back into the sea of kakera he scanned the pitiful scene one last time. The exhausted youth, the ill elder. Suddenly he felt the weight of their burdens upon his shoulder; almost dropped to a knee under the seemingly real pressure. They were counting on him. But he wasn't so sure of himself.

* * *

**Right; reviews always appreciated. **

**Megaolix: (Sort of pointless given that you clearly stated that you would not read my story further; but I digress) You bring up some valid criticisms of my story. I do feel that I may have overused the OC's and am trying to scale back on their use. Perhaps I should update 'slight gore' to plain old 'gore' if the scene with Virgilia's death was too much. The rest I can't address without spoiling the future storyline. Poor explanation I know; but I want to make it clear that I do have a plan and I am dealing with some of the more glaring problems brought up. Also; Law of Conservation of Detail. I brought it up for a reason.**

**With that said; still feel free to flame as you please.**


	5. EP7 : Decoy

**Episode 7 : Corruption of the Golden Witch**

**Move 4 : Decoy**

_"I believe that is enough for now. So, Ange Ushiromiya; what do you think of my story so far?" _Featherine considered her counterpart; Ange set the manuscript for Corruption of the Golden Witch onto the table and considered the question. She shrugged; responded:

_"The locked room that Bernkastel set up was impressive; especially considering that it was done almost wholly in the Golden Truth. I don't think anyone has tried that to this point correct?" _Featherine nodded in affirmation; Ange continued, _"I have been wondering about the nature of the Golden Truth for some time. Since I was removed in the fourth game, before the Golden Truth was first used by any party; I have no personal experience with that particular aspect of the game. Would you feel free to enlighten me?" _

_"__**Think of the Golden Truth as the Word of God; or the authors license, if you are so inclined. The Red Truth is anything that is factual, but can be interpreted based on experience and usage of itself. The Gold Truth is absolute- there is no room for interpretation, it is true from any aspect.**__" _Ange considered Featherine's elaboration; she frowned as something suddenly came to her:

_"But if that's the case, wouldn't the games without the Golden Truth potentially be solvable due to the fact that the Red Truth can be interpreted?" _Ange posed the query to Featherine; her counterpart inclined her head slightly in agreement.

_"You could look at it in that way; yes. Most of the Red Truth from those games still operates even without the idea of absolutism, simply because they are still factual truths. But that does not mean that they are the ultimate truth; they are only facts. The Golden Truth that Bernkastel is using against your brother is stronger than that; it is the ultimate shield and the ultimate sword. It may not be refuted; for it is the author's truth, the creator's truth. No truth is absolute; as you should know by now this is a fact I advocate. But the creators truth is the closest to being absolute; they are the ones who made the truth to begin with, after all."_

Ange nodded as Featherine explained the concept to her; the explanation had cleared up quite a bit for the Witch of Resurrection. _"Right. If that is the case, then anything not said in Golden Truth must be evaluated again; correct?" _A finger tapped lightly onto the table where the manuscripts rested; Ange placed her free hand onto her hair as she continued to ponder the matter. _"If that's the case, then..." _Ange suddenly removed the hand; eyes widened as her mind hit upon something. Featherine smiled; as if she had been expecting this. _"If the Red Truth is only factual, doesn't that mean-"_

She was interrupted by a slight clapping; Featherine had actually started to clap for her counterpart. _"Well done. Though it took you some time to recognize it; you still did so faster than your brother. Do you not see how clever it is? If one didn't understand the Red Truth and Gold Truth then they could not see it. Even then it is difficult to find. But it is the one key- the key that unravels Bernkastel's defenses and lays bare the prize. It is the key to victory." _Featherine settled down; she continued to beam kindly at Ange. Ange nodded in return, she began to expand on her new found knowledge:

_"Ah. It makes sense as to why Maebara has entered the game in the way he did as well. His presence should alert my brother; since the most obvious sign of the discrepancy lies there. Since Maebara has-" _

_"Shh!" _Featherine suddenly interjected; she even brought up a stray finger to her lips for effect. Ange paused; rose an eyebrow at the Witch of Theatrics. _"That is a spoiler, Ange Ushiromiya. I would prefer it if you did not ruin the details for those who follow my play."_

_"And who exactly would that be?" _Featherine shook her head cryptically; Ange tried again, _"What do you mean, 'those who follow your play?" _Featherine remained silent; she seemed to be trying to pointedly avoid Ange's question. Ange posed the question once more; again there was no response. Ange frowned; slightly irritated with Featherine's cryptic behavior. She slouched back into her seat; figured she might as well continue with the story if Featherine was not going to elaborate, and find out for herself. She took the manuscript up once more, flipped a few pages, and began to read aloud once more:

_"The bodies were in no shape to be moved; so the Ushiromiyas retreated into the servants housing. There they attempted to maintain a semblance of security in wake of the brutal killings; attempted to contact the authorities. But a typhoon was on the horizon; and all the land lines had seemingly died..."_

_**_

_"No luck. Every single one of the receivers on the island are probably dead." _Rudolph set the brass phone receiver onto it's pad with a click; it echoed though the silent congregation of adults. Their looks were grim, serious. An examination of the house at large hadn't shed any light onto the nature of the killer. Dark clouds and high winds from the horizon told of a typhoon; one that would seal off access to the island until it blew out. And none of the phones on the island were working. They were absolutely trapped; caged in as if they were mere birds on this island. An island with a killer still at large.

_"Alright then." _Krauss stood from his chair; set his hands uneasily onto the wooden table beside him. He had been silent since the discovery of his wife amongst the victims of the slaughter; he seemed to be speaking calmly, but only with difficulty. His teeth were clenched; his voice came out constricted. _"Whatever is happening here, we need to remain calm and focused. The storm will be out by tomorrow: we just need to keep the children calm and stay out of the mansion until help can arrive." _The adults murmured in consensus; Eva suddenly spoke up:

_"Have we determined if Father is still in the main house?" _

_"I have... but the news is not good." _Rosa spoke up at this; she had been tasked with retrieving Kinzo from his private quarters as they were pulling back into the servant rooms. _"I retrieved a servant's key from the... crime scene; and proceeded to Father's room. I knocked; he didn't answer. I tried again; still nothing. Finally I used the servant's key on the door; when I opened the room I found that the lights were off. A search of the room revealed that he wasn't there." _The adults responded in shock; Kinzo had never been known to leave his quarters before. They turned to one another; began to discuss the matter nervously amongst themselves. Eva mulled over Rosa's claims for a moment; then suddenly stood to face Krauss. He regarded her wearily in turn.

_"Father has disappeared?" _Her voice was slightly raised, darkly sarcastic with less than hidden implications. _"As we all know, there is no way at all that Father would leave his room by himself; willingly or otherwise..." _She left the thread hanging, the other adult's murmured in consent; minus Krauss who remained silent. _"So we must then assume that Kinzo has been taken: kidnapped... or even perhaps dead. And remind me now- who exactly is Father's caretaker again?" _

Krauss exclaimed in shock, _"Are you insinuating that this is of my doing? At a time like this; when six of our number lay dead in the very halls of Father's mansion?" _He put a palm to his forehead; shook it sadly. _"Eva-san; these past events have shocked you more then you let on. I would have no reason for perpetrating the kidnapping or death of Father-"_

_"-Except to secure the headship," _Eva interjected loudly. _"Everyone assembled in this very room knows that you are in the weakest position of our group to inherit the title; but a little subterfuge could fix that easily. Perhaps you caused a little 'chaos'-," _Eva put a slight stress onto the word, _"-and in the confusion somehow removed Father from the picture. Then and only then could you receive the title of headship." _The adults considered Eva's accusations quietly while Krauss furiously shot back:

_"So you are now even saying that I am responsible for the murders of the other six? Simply preposterous!" _It seemed to be getting harder for Krauss to control his temper; his frown has widened and his voice became even tighter with constraint. Eva smiled; sensing Krauss's agitation she continued to press on the attack:

_"Not so much, 'Krauss-san'," _Eva began; mockingly emphasizing her counterparts name as he struggled to keep his temper in check. _"It is perfectly logical really; sacrifice a few meaningless pawns and gain the greater prize-"_

And then suddenly Krauss broke. He roared at Eva, _"Meaningless pawns? My wide is dead!" _The room remained silent in wake of Krauss' outburst; the adults stood still in an awkward silence that stretched on uncomfortably long. Eva seemed to have been stunned into silence by Krauss' furious retort; their gazes met and she was forced to break away quickly; the anger present in Krauss' gaze made her back nervously into her chair. The silence continued; Krauss finally managed to gain control over his anger and settle down uneasily into his own chair. The two considered one another for a moment; Eva began to speak once more:

_"That may be so Krauss-san," _Eva began; voice quiet and timid. It grew in strength as she continued, _"But that still does not account for Father. For all we know; he may have orchestrated this... 'situation' himself." _More muttering broke out at this; they seemed surprised with Eva's newest theories. _"Perhaps it is you. Perhaps it is him. And perhaps it is someone else entirely. But I think that we must know. My ultimatum still stands; you are either with me on this... or against me."_

_"You are acting rashly Eva-san. Understandable in the face of the unthinkable things that have occurred; but still inadvisable." _It was Kyrie who spoke now; calm tone easing some of the tension that hung damp and stiffing in the air. _"You are right. The culprit could be anyone among us; and indeed the headship is probably the major reason behind it. But this is not the time to act upon that information. We are in dire straights now; any such act to find the culprit will only stretch us thin and expose us to the killer." _Approving nods; as usual, Kyrie's rational thinking inspired her fellows to action.

_"Agreed. We should stay in the servant dormitories- perhaps organize a raid into the mansion for food?" _

Krauss agreed with Rudolph's sentiment. _"Yes. We have Kinzo's Winchesters; I doubt that even __the killer can stand attacking four of us armed with rifles." _The adults again murmured in agreement. While they ordinarily were at odds with one another; the extreme circumstances of their predicament brought them together, united under the common ideal of survival. Eva remained silent, observing quietly the flurry of activity around her as her siblings continued to make plans in an air of nigh feverish confidence and hope.

_"Perhaps you are right, Kyrie-san." _The words were muttered; none of the adults scrambling around the room heard Eva's dark tone as she continued to whisper ominously to herself. _"But I know that there is a greater truth beyond these brutal killings. There is the truth of the Gold; the Gold of the Epitaph. It can- no, it must be found." _Steeled with resolve; Eva suddenly rose from her seat. She proceeded to grab a rifle that had been propped against her chair; seized it with a strong hand. She slung it over her shoulder and made for the exit; not deigning to notice when the adults began to call for her. She simply exited; mind determined upon what she believed to be correct. The adults had frozen, silent; in her departing.

_"She has gone mad." _Kyrie muttered it under her breath; in the almost total silence of the room all heard her. Nobody said anything; they continued to stare inertly at the door that closed with a slight creak in her wake. For almost a minute they remained too stunned to act. Then finally the silence was broken:

_"My dear?" _Hideyoshi, who had been quiet for most of the meeting, finally stirred from his seat. _"Eva! Come back, it is not safe!" _He sprang from his chair; practically jumped over the table and ran after his wife. He didn't even bother to take a rifle with him; he simply ran unarmed after her. The adults were finally stirred into action by Hideyoshi's departure; they began to gabble amongst themselves. Nobody had expected something like this to occur; nobody could think of their next action. So again it fell to Kyrie; already seizing a rifle of her own even as she began to address her fellows:

_"Stay put; we can't afford to send so many after Eva, considering that we have the children to defend. No, I will go after the two and stop them myself. If nobody is able to return by noon, assume that we have been killed and barricade yourselves into these quarters. Wait until tomorrow; the typhoon should be clear by then. Escape the island; bring the authorities to the island. Just stay alive." _Her final words drifted after her even as she pushed through the door and departed. The adults were left silent in her wake. In the distance; the seagulls could be heard crying in agitation.

**

_"Pass the tea if you will." _Maebara handed the ornate porcelain pot sitting beside him across the garden table to Beatrice; she took it with a nod of gratitude. Pouring the boiling black liquid into her cup; she continued to speak, _"Ronove does make food of the highest caliber; does he not?" _The others at the table, counterclockwise from Beatrice: MARIA, Virgilia, Maebara directly across from her, and Battler; all nodded. _"I have few memories of my prior life; but the delicious food is one of the few things I remember well." _She licked her lips almost dreamily; began to drink.

_"Far less vulgar than entrails as well." _Battler threw a glance at Maebara; he shrugged in response. Another lull had been called in the game for both sides to plan and generally relax; Bernkastel and her fellows had disappeared into a realm of their own. Battler had vaguely heard something about a 'candy massage'; inwardly he was glad he wasn't around to witness a bunch of millennium year old witches pamper one another. Time away from the game was peaceful; indeed Battler would have quit the game entirely had it not been for Beatrice's memories. He was not beholden to either Bernkastel or Lambdadelta as Beatrice had formerly been; he was free to leave of his own accord at anytime.

_"Again Battler, you are too soon to judge. Fresh entrails are delicious; especially if pulled from an only recently living subject." _He stopped; noted the various looks being given to him by the others seated at the table. _"Oh come now, is it really that horrendous of a concept to imagine? I was young, stupid, hungry at the time. And you have no right of all people to judge me Virgilia- after all, you were the one who encouraged me to try it at the time." _Battler raised an eyebrow at Virgilia; she responded coolly:

_"I did not 'encourage' you Maebara; I simply suggested that you broaden your diet. You were the one who took my directions a step too far. Or several. You were as bad as Featherine; if not worse, during your youth."_

Maebara laughed at this. _"True," _He began, _"But I changed. Featherine to this day is still a ripe old monster- in your viewpoint at least- and she is even older than me!" _He continued to chuckle heartily as he brought his cup to his lips.

_"At least Featherine is consistently a monster. You are far less easy to read; and by extension a less than trustworthy ally." _Virgilia finished her retort with a draft from her own cup of black tea; eyes still fixed over the rim onto Maebara. Battler and Beatrice nodded at this; the three had privately met during an interim where he had disappeared following the First Twilight. They had come to the conclusion: based on Virgilia's report of his character and the fact that he had chosen to conveniently disappear before their meeting, that Maebara could not be trusted as a full ally; not this soon after he had joined their ranks.

_"You have a point there as well," _Maebara agreed. _"I am only an ally by the loosest of definitions; as I said before my primary loyalty is to the Senate. If any of you are judged as an enemy of the Senate, well..." _He jerked a head at his aluminum bat; propped against a pillar of the gazebo that stood above and around the table they had occupied before the mansion of Rokkenjima. It gleaned ominously in the glare of the distant sun; Battler considered it with a glance.

_"Meager fare for a Sorcerer such as yourself." _This was Battler; he had set his repast down and folded his hands assertively onto the table. _"If you can't be considered a full ally; then we can't trust you to not turn against us at any moment. So should you ever give us any reason to attack..." _He left the thread hanging; considered his next words carefully. _"Then we will retaliate. I lost our last battle; that is true. But I have learned since then- I will surely not be defeated by you a second time."_

_"Indeed." _Maebara bobbed his head in agreement. He continued on cheerily, _"Well then it seems that we have reached an agreement. Our alliance is free to drop at any time, if either side does something against the wishes of the other." _Battler and Maebara regarded one another; neither could read the others expression. So Maebara continued, _"I almost look forward to another confrontation; Battler Ushiromiya. Your confidence is impressive; and confidence always brings the promise of a good fight!" _He nodded vigorously; then quieted and returned calmly to his tea.

Having reached the end of their conversation; the magical beings assembled simply continued to quietly and peaceably drink their tea and consume their cookies. It made for an odd sight, five silent figures crammed together at this small table; almost shoulder to shoulder as they continued to feast on their repast. This continued for almost five minutes, nobody saying anything; but all assembled simply eating and drinking in silence. Occasionally, Battler would glance at Maebara. But he still couldn't read the Sorcerer's intentions; and he ultimately gave up. Only after five minutes of this calm silence, penetrated only the the crunch of foodstuffs between people's mouths; did some sort of disturbance occur. A cry from the surrounding rose gardens; heads turning, startled by the sudden noise.

_"Uryuu!" _A flash of yellow and orange flew at Lady MARIA. Laughs of relief came from the others as they saw the source of the noise; an excited Sakutaro had playfully glomped MARIA. The two had collapsed onto the floor; laughing childishly as they wrestled. Sakutaro had disappeared into the rose gardens earlier; at the request of Battler himself, MARIA had remained behind with the convening witches and sorcerers. Still laughing; MARIA managed to extricate herself from the tangle and return to her seat; Sakutaro straightening up and squeezing in with her. The others shifted to make room for her; though extremely cramped they could all still fit, with some difficulty at the table.

_"Uu~, MARIA is glad to see you again!" _MARIA smiled at the boy; he smiled back as he reached a grasping hand out for a cookie. MARIA took a cookie from her own plate and handed it to Sakutaro; with a smile he began to nibble on the delicious pasty eagerly. _"But I was in the middle of a meeting with my friends," _she continued in a more serious tone. _"You shouldn't have done that."_

Sakutaro hung his head, turned his eyes shyly toward MARIA. _"Sorry MARIA. I promise I won't ever do it again." _MARIA's expression softened; Sakutaro continued, _"Uryuu... how about a hug to make up for it!" _He extended his arms; she smiled and did likewise. They warmly embraced; the elder magical beings assembled at the table couldn't help but smile at the adorably childish display; even Maebara managed to crack a slight grin.

_"Uu~ MARIA forgives Sakutaro." _The pair released their grips around one another; turned to the table with difficulty and proceeded to consume more cookies as they idly chatted. The others followed suit; though with the distraction aside Battler began to consider Maebara once more. Pleasantries were exchanged as the feeding continued:

_"Uryuu, Sakutaro is glad to see Lady Beatrice is back!"_

_"Thank you Sakutaro." _In the interim between the First Twilight and now; Battler and Virgilia had also been giving Beatrice stories of her past in the hopes of sparking the return of more memories; through Beatrice couldn't recall her actual remembrances of the Mariage Sorciere, she had all of the knowledge about her former friends that she needed. _"I am very glad to be back as well. And once I win this game, the first thing I will do is repay you for your kindness in welcoming me back." _She smiled graciously at the boy; he grinned in turn.

_"I am glad to see you back as well Sakutaro. Lady ANGE performed a true miracle- not that you would know about it, Lady Beatrice," _Virgilia elaborated upon seeing the perplexity evident in the Golden Witch's face; she nodded and returned to her tea. _"Please forgive my student; her mind is still not complete. She knows of the history between you, MARIA, and herself... she just does not remember very well; if that makes sense." _Sakutaro eagerly nodded as he responded:

_"Sakutaro understands. Lady Beatrice is not well now; but I know that one day she will be!" _Virgilia smiled at this and offered Sakutaro a cookie from her own plate; he took it with a thanks and split it between himself and MARIA.

Battler continued to examine the lighthearted scene with slight grimness; he had suddenly thought of something since Maebara had explained his standing to them only minutes earlier. A plan had come to him; a simple one that could potentially turn the tide if executed properly. But he couldn't trust his 'ally' with this sort of information; Maebara had made it perfectly clear that he was only barely on their side at all. He had to draw him away to discuss the plan with his more loyal allies, but he was unsure on how to do that. As he watched, he noted that Maebara was chatting idly with MARIA and Sakutaro; even a Sorcerer as old as Maebara and potentially as cruel as Bernkastel had time for the innocence of those two. And then it occurred to him. He put a hand on the table; rose to the curiosity of the rest seated, and began to address Sakutaro:

_"Lady MARIA may have forgiven you for your transgressions," _Battler began; trying to sound serious as he continued on with his admittedly ludicrous idea. _"But I am the one to whom you are really accountable to- this meeting was my idea." _MARIA opened her mouth to protest; but Battler put a finger over his lips and thus quieted her before continuing, _"So thus I declare that this offense may not go unpunished!" _Battler almost felt the need to strike his own head at the melodrama that he was spewing; but he persevered, _"So behold your punishment! Seven Sisters of the Deadliest Sins; come to me!"_

With a clap of his hands the Seven Stakes appeared with loud cracks in a half circle around him. Lucifer raised a hand to her brow in a salute; proclaimed, _"The Seven Sisters of Purgatory stand ready to-" _She froze in mid sentence; almost simultaneously her sisters froze in the midst of their posturing upon seeing Sakutaro. They stood silent for a second; Lucifer shot a questioning glance at Battler. He nodded slightly; a wicked grin erupted onto his face as he gave them his consent. And at once the Seven Sisters gave loud squeals and took off after Sakutaro.

_"Uryuu!" _With a cry of shock and fright the lion-like boy sprang from his seat as the Sisters gleefully flew after him. Battler actually cackled slightly; amused at the chaos he had caused. Virgilia raised an eyebrow, but said no more. MARIA looked from the dwindling figure of Sakutaro to the chuckling Battler; indignation evident on her face.

_"Uu~! That was a horrible thing to-" _At a glance from Battler, Beatrice had clamped a hand firmly over MARIA's mouth; she let out muffled cries as the hand firmly held her lips together. Battler acted quickly; speed was imperative to his plan. He turned to Maebara; who seemed to be perplexed at the odd events that had just unfolded. Clearing his throat and trying to keep his tone as serious as possible; Battler addressed Maebara in turn:

_"I must apologize Maebara. I take the loyalty and discipline of my furniture very seriously." _This was a load of bollocks; Battler only hoped that Maebara would swallow the tale without question. _"It is a whimsical punishment; but one that puts Sakutaro in line very quickly indeed. Erm... unfortunately it seems that my furniture have gone slightly overboard in their punishment-" _In the distance, the Stake's fan-girlish cries could still be heard; Meabara raised an eyebrow at Battler and he laughed nervously in response. _"Quite. Well, I have no other furniture on hand at the moment; would you take on the responsibility of stopping my furniture for me?" _He offered Maebara a nervous grin; he stoically looked back.

For several seconds, the only sounds were those of the dwindling shouts of Sakutaro and the Stakes; Battler silently prayed for his odd gambit to succeed. Maebara continued to stare silently at Battler; the redhead could feel sweat breaking out under scrutiny. Despite his posturing and big words; his previous battle with Maebara and Featherine still weighed on his mind; he would gladly avoid a conflict with Maebara if he could. Several more seconds passed; Battler was beginning to think that his gambit had failed, Maebara would refuse or perhaps even see through his ruse and decide to respond in kind. And then Maebara finally spoke:

_"If it is necessary to you." _Before anyone else at the table could react; Maebara rose from his seat and began to briskly walk for his bat. He scooped it up with one hand; the other gestured and two members of the SSVD appeared in full armor beside him. They were white-haired and brunette respectively; Wizard-Hunting Wright himself had not shown up. These two would then be Vance and Benson; they sprang to salutes and almost immediately made after Maebara. The three broke into a jog; soon they were out of earshot and making after the figures of the Stakes and Sakutaro; still running in the vague distance towards the ocean visible on the horizon.

Battler breathed a sigh of relief; his plan had worked. Beatrice finally released her stiffing grip over MARIA's mouth; she emerged from it sputtering and coughing. Virgilia offered her her last drafts of tea; the girl took them eagerly and began to drink away her irritated throat. Battler waited a few seconds more; let the figures of Maebara and the SSVD dwindle away. Finally he began to address those who remained:

_"I feel I must express my slight shame and condolences at such a pathetic ruse; it was the only idea I had on hand at the time. You especially, Lady MARIA; I did not want Sakutaro to get pulled into this but again I had no choice." _The assembled witches nodded; minus MARIA who kept drinking from Virgilia's tea to soothe her throat. _"It did however work; Maebara is gone and we are free to speak openly." _

MARIA finally finished her tea. Wiping daintily at her mouth with a napkin she spoke, _"While that was a less than admirable thing to do; I suppose I can hold no grudge. You had a reason fro doing what you did, after all." _Battler smiled appreciatively at the girl; she nodded curtly then poked lightly at Virgilia's shoulder. When the silver-haired witch responded; she asked, _"Would you summon Ronove and ask him to supply us with more tea? I still feel dryness in my throat." _Virgilia nodded; the demon butler was summoned and the requests made. While Lady MARIA received her tea, Battler continued his address:

_"Right. So since you were all here, you all should have heard it; Maebara is not beholden in anyway to us and we should not be beholden to him. Thus, I propose that we take an action to consolidate our position on the board; and secure our victory in the interest of returning Beatrice's memories." _Battler nodded at Beatrice; she returned the gesture kindly. _"Thus, I am proposing one thing: we deploy our forces to find one of the key mysteries of the game. We shall seek out the Treasure of the Epitaph."_

Almost immediately objections were raised to his proposal. Beatrice was the first; she said with a shadow of uncertainty, _"But I thought we had already solved the riddle of the epitaph? No- __it is a given that we have already solved the epitaph.__ Why seek out the Treasure if we have already found it?" _

_"Excellent point, my lady." _He noted the odd usage of terminology there to himself; he supposed he would have treated any love interest with courtesy and respect, more than he usually showed anyways. _"And yes, I did a lot of thinking on it during the Sixth Game and I did reach a conclusion that I am almost positive is correct. But the humans on the board rarely do. And even when they do; the murders still continue!" _The congregation nodded in consensus. _"So we need to know why this is occurring. And how do we do that? We find the gold for ourselves and figure out if there is anything unusual or spectacular about it."_

Beatrice nodded, Battler's clarification made sense. However she almost immediately continued on with her second question, _"Bernkastel has denied the interference of outside forces in the game, correct?" _Battler nodded, everyone except Lady MARIA had been present when Bernkastel had made the announcement in Golden Truth at the same time that Lady MARIA's piece had been lauded to the position of detective. _"If we interfere, we will undoubtedly face consequences."_

_"Not to mention that since Featherine is clearly on their side despite her odd victory conditions; their power is something that we can't contest. I do not think that they would hesitate to kill us if we irk them; and that is a contest that we could not win- especially without Maebara's support." _Virgilia added this; Beatrice nodded in agreement with her sentiments. Battler nodded in consideration of their arguments, then launched into his rebuttal:

_"True, Bernkastel has disallowed 'outside' forces from interfering with the game." _He stressed 'outside' sightly; he saw Beatrice and Virgilia's expressions widen as they began to hit upon his reasoning. _"But that does not apply at all to forces within the game. As Maebara so kindly demonstrated by sending the SSVD into Maria's room yesterday." _MARIA nodded, she had also reached an understanding as well. _"And what force do we know that exists within the boundaries of the game- indeed is sitting with us as we speak? Featherine is not the only playwright around here; our side also has actors on it's side. Actors that can rewrite the script."_

Everyone turned to regard MARIA; she began to nod as she spoke, _"Uu~. I see what you are getting at Battler-san; since I am a force that is still tethered to this game, I can interfere without breaking Bernkastel's rulings. But I am still not sure. What if Bernkastel decides to punish me anyways?"_

To this Battler walked over to stand directly over his younger cousin; she almost pushed back in her seat as he approached, unsure of what he would do. He placed a hand onto her hair; ruffled it lightly as he spoke directly to her. _"Perhaps you are right. Bernkastel might disregard her own rules, as she has done in the past. She might attack you- she might indeed. But is it not worth the risk? To see your family reunited once more; to see them survive past the fateful day of October Fifth of 1986? That is one of the rules of this game, I believe; that your love shall push you to the greatest of deeds. If you find the Treasure of the Epitaph, it shall put us that much closer to victory. So can you do it?"_

A minute of silence passed. Battler removed his hand from the Witch of Origin's hair; she seemed to be silent in deep thought. And at last she smiled, gave that smile to Battler and with it affirmed that she would support him fully in this endeavor. _"Uu~. I will do it, I will find the Treasure in the next instance that this game is run. I even know the perfect furniture for the job!"_

_"Anything you need for this; I will provide." _Battler nodded at MARIA; she nodded in final affirmation and the two seated themselves once more. The table was oddly spacious with the disappearance of Maebara; despite the fact that he had not occupied that much space. The table almost felt too large now; it was as if the distance between them had stretched since they had last sat there. It felt a mite ominous to Battler; but he ignored this. He has shrugged off his inertia; he was finally moving once more- perhaps for the first time since the game had begun. Even if this move failed; Battler would keep pushing until he broke Bernkastel and saved Beatrice. For that was the rule of this game. That his love would push him to best even the witch who could bring forth miracles.

Virgilia shifted in her seat; she nodded at Ronove, who had arrived once more with fresh tea and snacks. He distributed the refreshments amongst the congregated magical beings; they took them and began to feast once more. Virgilia suddenly murmured to herself; Battler raised an eyebrow at her as she spoke:

_"It's odd Battler but... I just realized that this is the first underhanded venture that you have really taken in this game." _Battler's eyes shot a query at her; she read them and responded, _"Of course our opponents have done worse. Even Beatrice and I have done some cruel things over the course of this game- the ruse in our Third Game in particular stands out." _Battler chuckled upon recalling that moment; it hadn't exactly been his greatest triumph. _"But it is still interesting to note. You are becoming more like a true magical creature."_

_"Perhaps..." _Battler tried to think of a retort but he couldn't. Because Virgilia was absolutely correct in her thinking. No, instead he simply sipped quietly from his tea and reflected on Virgilia's words.

Behind one of the pillars of the gazebo, Wizard-Hunting Wright departed undetected.

**

It was near noon; the adults sat uneasily in the foyer of the servant houses as they watched the clock ticking slowly towards the twelfth hour. It was unbearable; watching the minutes slowly tick by and knowing that every minute brought them closer to the dreadful knowledge that none of them had wanted to hear. An hour ago a single gunshot had issued from somewhere in the mansion; ringing with eerie clarity throughout the island grounds. The seagulls had been particularly agitated at that one; up to now, the panicked fluttering of their wings and their echoing cries could still be heard in the distance. But at least they could escape the island. The humans on the other hand, were trapped.

Maria wandered about the room; admiring various curios that had been set up in the foyer by Kinzo many years before. She had heard the gunshot; all of the children had, but the adults had managed to avoid the issue and keep her blissfully unaware. The clock struck twelve; even at a distance they could hear the deep tolling of the grandfather clock in the main mansion. Krauss got to his feet; sighed as he began to speak:

_"It is noon; and none of them are back. We must assume that they are... 'gone'," _he began, making sure to avoid using the word 'dead' around the still childlike Maria. _"I say we begin barricading at once." _He made for the door; presumably to grab some inane object or another for usage in the planned barricades. But Rudolph headed him off. He had seemingly aged with worry; his eyes had been bloodshot and his nails were bitten clean off. Presumably he was worried for Kyrie; the moment the gunshot had gone off he had been pacing the servant house in an agitated state.

_"We mustn't be too hasty Krauss. They could still be alive for all we know- barricades will only keep them from us." _His tone was forcibly level; but Krauss could still sense the silent plea in Rudolph's voice. Krauss sighed; he had expected this of course. But that didn't mean he was ready to handle it.

_"I do not think that will be a wise move. You heard Kyrie; she specifically told us to bunker up in the event of her not reaching us by noon of this day. We must follow her to the letter-"_

_"-But don't you want to see them safe?" _Rudolph didn't bother to mask his desperation now; his voice was quick as he made his entreaty. _"They could still make it back; they could even be on their way as we speak! And then we would all be safe- even Eva-san!" _He actually put his hands together as he tried to persuade Krauss; with difficulty the eldest sibling turned his younger brother away and continued for the closest room, trying to justify himself as he did so:

_"At this point we can't be sure of that, Rudolph-san. Eva made her own choice; so did Hideyoshi and Kyrie. They were all trying to preserve a life- except for Eva, who I think had finally snapped under pressure- and we do them no good by exposing our lives to further danger." _He had reached the door, keeping the pleading Rudolph at arms length; when a third voice spoke up:

_"And how can we be too sure of your intent to do that?" _This voice was light, pleasant; Rosa rarely spoke and thus her voice was a quiet but soothing sort of speech. _"Even in a situation as dire as this; I am sure you understand that conflicts do not just die easily. Eva was right in some accounts; your actions towards us do give us reason to suspect you of something. I am not saying she is right; but she does have a point that you must address."_

Krauss stopped; dropped his arm and let Rudolph fly past him and into the drywall of the room. He sighed, a heavy sigh that indicated his regret. _"You are right. My actions to all of you are indeed inexcusable. But that was then. Now... now we need to survive. And I could be the killer; Eva is right there. But that doesn't mean I am. I just want to get through this alive; keep my daughter and my extended family safe." _Here his voice constricted; he seemed to be on the verge of tears. _"My wife- my wife is gone. But I must keep going."_

Rosa couldn't say anything; she hadn't expected Krauss to actually show regret for his actions. She simply nodded quietly, and she continued to do so until a rapport sounded on one side of the thick mahogany doors that barred the foyer from the outside world. Everyone in the room turned to the doors; even Maria stopped in her wandering of the room to glance at the door. It opened, slowly and with many creaks the door was pushed open. Eva made her way quietly into the room.

At first the inhabitants of the room wanted to rush to her; ask if she was ok, ask about the state of those who had gone after her. Krauss, Rudolph and Rosa all made for Eva. And then they stopped upon closer examination of her.

He hair was a tangled, orange mess. Her clothes were creased, even ripped in places and her shoes had somehow worn out. A bent gun was grasped tightly in one hand; surprising in of itself as to how such a thick gun could be twisted so. Eva's eyes were open wide; her pupils had contracted and here darting about her in a frenzied, almost wild manner.

And her clothes were splattered with blood.

* * *

**Jhon: Allow me to clear up the OC vs. Fan Speculation/Possible debate for you.**

**Maebara, Iotazeta, Broglie, and the Senate are all purely OC; only lose mention of the Senate even exists in Umineko canon.**

**Barbatos is possible. She is one of the 72 demons mentioned in the Lesser Key of Solomon; which is where Ryukishi pulled the 72 Pillars of Hell from. Hell, they even have the same number! Furfur, Zepar, the Seven Stakes, Ronove, and Gaap are all mentioned by the Lesser Key. So Barbatos isn't too much of a stretch.**

**The SSVD are also passively mentioned; but the existence of Knox's rules give me some leeway to assume that the SSVD and Eiserne Jungfrau are at odds. **

**Featherine is a character from Game 6. She is undoubtedly canon. **

**Hopefully that helps.**


End file.
